November Rain
by AbydosGoddess
Summary: The story is actually a sequel/spin-off of a Highlander story I'm working on... knowledge of that story is not required. This is my first Torchwood fic so constructive criticism would be great....
1. Prologue

-1Page Taylor Scott, at least that was her name at the moment. In her two thousand plus year history this was the longest she had used one name, or a variation of that name. For most of the time it was Paige. A stroke of genius, at least according to her, caused her to remove the "i" from her name. However, none of that is particularly important. Her name did not matter, at least not to her, it was only a name. what mattered to Page was history, preserving history. Telling her story.

Page's life has always been out of the ordinary. She has never been what most would call normal. For starters, she was born over two thousand years ago in Rome. Page is Immortal. Because of this, complications in her life never seem to cease. Only one man knows her real name. This is not for some secretive reason, it is simply because she hated it and decided not to use it again. Page has to think very hard to even remember what she was called before she became Immortal. For centuries Page was a loner. She kept to herself and never let anyone close to her. Page rarely spoke and spent most of her years blending in. She was far from a skilled fighter, and on several occasions nearly lost her head. Two men in her life, at very different times, were responsible for shaping Page into the woman she is today.

The first was a man from the Scottish Highlands. She first met him early in the seventeen century. His name, was Duncan MacLeod. Duncan brought out a more aggressive side to Page. She stopped hiding in the corner. Though she would remain quite shy for at least two and a half more centuries. Duncan became very close to her. In a way, as he grew older and wiser he became a surrogate father to Page, even though he was over a thousand years younger than Page. Duncan taught her how to live. He taught her how to master swords, which in turn became a mastery of most bladed weapons. Knives and daggers in particular are Page's forte.

Duncan MacLeod was the reason Page was so opinionated now. He taught her to stand up for what she believed in and never back down. Still she was reserved, quiet. Not like the girl most know when they think of Page. The cycle of shyness ended in the mid 1800s when Page met a mysterious man named Jack. He was nothing special when she first met him. Well, aside from the fact that he was incredibly charismatic and had astonishing good looks, and women melted wherever her went. Still there was nothing spectacular about him. He would not have been a man to stand the test of time in Page's memory if it were not for their second meeting.

The second time she met Jack was fifty years later. He had not aged a day. For a moment she thought it might have been the man's son, but even then… Fifty years? The time did not match up. Normally something like this would not have surprised Page. She was over 1800 years old herself and still looked to be in her mid twenties. There were many of her kind. Immortals. They were all able to sense one another when one was nearby. Page found it odd when she saw Jack again. She could not sense him. There was no familiar tightening of her stomach or ringing in her ears. He was not **an** Immortal, but yet he was Immortal.

Their second encounter was short, only a few days at most but it left some marks (literally and figuratively). Jack brought out the long dormant almost child-like love of life in Page. He gave her this Carpe Diem kind of attitude. Seize the day. It was this part of her personality combined with the aggressive passionate part that Duncan gave her that turned Page into the woman she is today. About every ten or fifteen years Page ran into Jack. A couple times she witnessed the man's death. He never did stay dead though. Page could relate. That was probably why she connected with Jack so well, because she could relate to that aspect of his life. When they first met she went by Paige, but by the time of their last meeting in 1980 she had changed the spelling.

Page's life had never been normal, but the last few months took the cake. If you told her two-thousand years ago she would be running around Wales chasing weevils she would have thought you were insane. Hell, if you told her that eight months ago she would have thought you were insane. That is exactly what she is doing though. However, we can not just jump in during the middle of the story. We need to start at the beginning, about eight months ago.


	2. Torchwood

-1He was gone. Both of them, gone but in different senses of the word. She got there too late. Page could not save the young Immortal. She tried so hard for so long to protect the man, but failed when it really mattered. The blue-eyed Immortal worked his way past her defenses. Richie Ryan. The first person in centuries, save Duncan MacLeod and one other, that Page let get close to her. She would never say she loved him though, at least not romantically. Romantic love did not exist, and on some days Page felt as though love itself in any form did not exist. It was simply a concept made up by idealists that thought there was good in everyone. Page knew better. She knew some people were just evil. Richie Ryan was more of a brother to her than anything. They flirted, and joked, but she never thought of Richie as anything more than a little brother. In that respect she would say she loved him. Now he was gone.

So was her closest friend, her mentor, her Yoda. Duncan MacLeod. He was the only man she could truly count on. He never let her down and she never gave up on him. Even when Joe Dawson said there was no way to save him after a Dark Quickening. Page never gave up. Duncan saved her life, showed her that life was worth living and taught her when to fight and when to hide. Now he was gone, and she felt lost. Page felt empty. It was a feeling she could honestly say in two thousand years she never felt. Her guidance, her friendship was gone. While Duncan MacLeod was still physically there, emotionally, mentally he was gone. Broken by the fact that he had killed the man he looked to as a son.

As she sat on the small plane, staring out the window, the images still haunted her. The look in Duncan's eyes, offering Methos his sword and begging Methos to kill him. The sight of the Quickening before she saw Richie's headless corpse. Images that would stay with Page for a very long time. Duncan left. No one knew where he went. With him gone Page decided to sever her ties. She packed up some clothes and headed to the airport. Page told know one what she was doing and even left her cell phone behind. Page boarded the only flight she had money for. A small plane headed from Paris to Cardiff in Wales. It was not far, but it would have to be far enough. Why she was on a plane was still a mystery to her. She had a terrible fear of heights and by extension, flying. It was a miracle Richie was even able to convince her to fly from the States to Paris in the first place. Richie had that way about him though. That smile that could make Page do just about anything.

Lucky for her the plane ride was short and uneventful. That could not be said however, for the next few months of her life. Everything started right away. She had been in Cardiff less than an hour. Her leather boots with a small heel on them smacked against the pavement. She looked somewhat out of place there. Dark jeans, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket on top of all that was short fiery red hair. Page carried all her belongings in a small duffle bag that hung over her shoulders. She had just stepped into the street when she saw the SUV come to a screeching halt. Page pulled the earphones out of her ears. Part of this was her fault. She had not been paying attention but she chose to blame it on the SUV and the twat that was driving. She stopped and turned to glare at the driver.

The glare never made it to her face though. She squinted to see into the car and saw a familiar face. Part of her wanted to take off running. The last thing she needed was to be surrounded by someone she knew. Not just someone she knew but a man that knew how to work his way past every defense she had. She half noticed the driver, a young man with dark hair, motioning her to cross the street but she did not move. The passenger side door opened and he stepped out. It had been twenty-eight years since the last time they saw each other. She tried to fight back the smile on her face, but failed miserably. As much as she wanted to run away from him, it was comforting to see a familiar face.

"Page?" He seemed just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. Twenty-eight years. It was the longest she had gone, since she met him, without seeing Jack. For a moment she wondered why he even got out of the car, and did not just ignore her. Normally that was what he did. She'd see him, he'd pretend not to notice then find her later. Not this time though. He got out of the car and actually walked up to her while she counted four people in the SUV watched. Then she realized why he stopped, why he was standing in front of her and why there was actually concern in his blue eyes. She was crying. In the almost two hundred years she had known Jack she had never let him see her cry. Page was always strong. She quickly wiped away the tears as though they were never there. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she answered quickly. She could tell her voice stunned Jack for a moment. For the past year and a half Page had adopted an Irish accent while around Richie. She forgot that Jack had not heard her speak with one. Not that it mattered, she had been around for so long she knew so many accents. He smiled and it calmed her. He always had this odd comforting presence when he smiled. "Where's MacLeod?" Her silence told him more than any answer would. Page heard him sigh before she felt his arms around her. Normally she would protest greatly but she was broken and he knew it. She did protest a little, trying to push him away, get out of his grip but he would not let go. The only thing keeping he from completely breaking down was the fact that they were in public and at least four other people were watching. She heard the SUV go passed her and a few minutes later the four people that were inside were walking up behind Jack.

"Jack?" He turned around as a young woman called his name. It seemed to dawn on the both of them in that moment that they were standing in the middle of the street, so they both took a step to the side, and out of the way of oncoming traffic. Page quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping that these four strangers did not notice.

Jack smiled at him and Page knew they were friends of his. When Jack started hanging around with 'friends' on a regular basis Page was unsure, but apparently he was. "This is Zeppie."

At that Page turned to him, red hair falling in her face, and she glared. Zeppie was a nickname Jack gave her the last time they met. She was fond of the nickname as long as it stayed between the two of them. "My name is Page," she corrected him.

Jack flashed that charming smile that he was so famous for. The one that made it impossible for Page to stay angry with him and sure enough her icy glare faded away. "Zeppie?" Her attention was grabbed by another voice. She turned to the man who addressed her. He was nothing special. Had to have only been a couple inches taller than her and he was rather thin, though his eyes caught her attention as well has his pants. She liked his pants. He seemed the most 'casual' of the group.

"Page," she told him simply. The man simply raised and eyebrow and stifled a laugh.

"She's a Zeppelin fan," Jack announced with a smirk.

"JACK!" Page punched him lightly in the shoulder and turned a bright shade of red, almost matching her hair.

He laughed and shook his head, playing it off as if it were nothing. "This is Gwen Cooper," he told her, pointing to the woman who addressed him. "Toshiko Sato, we call her Tosh," he said pointing to the other woman. "Ianto Jones and, you met Owen Harper."

"Umm… Hi?" She was unsure what to say. If Jack had friends before he never introduced them to Page. Why was he doing so now? Every time she saw the man he filled her with more questions. He was like a Rubic's Cube that no one would ever be able to master. She looked at the group and saw a look of caution on their faces. There was tension. Page had no idea they had just finished dealing with someone from Jack's past, and that it had not gone very well. It seemed to be a theme with Page.

Jack seemed to understand and he broke the awkward silence by clearing his throat first and chuckling a bit. "Page is harmless really."

For a moment Page flashed back to when she first met Richie. Duncan had said the same thing about her. A faint, bittersweet smile formed on her face but she wiped it away quickly and looked up at Jack. "Why does everyone keep saying that," she whined. "I can be dangerous!"

"Oh yeah, terrifying," Owen commented absently only to be met by Page's icy death glare.

"Trust me Page I know how dangerous you are. I just meant that you have no intentions on killing any of them."

Page was still glaring at Owen as Jack spoke. There was something about him that irritated her. "Not yet."

"Umm… who is she?" Ianto piped up. Page looked over at him, her gaze softening. He had an inviting face and blue eyes that reminded her so much of Jack's.

"An old friend." There was a hint of fondness in his voice that made Page smile. She was often left wondering whether Jack would even remember her the next time he saw her and each time he did. Perhaps she was not as forgettable as she thought. Page took note of the way Ianto looked at Jack and she smiled. She was worried for a moment that Jack might say what she was. Give away her secrets. She knew better than that though. Jack was the master of secrets. She was pretty sure she did not know anyone with as many secrets as Jack. She knew he would keep hers.

When Page looked back at Jack she noticed that he seemed to be studying her. Not in the normal way he used to, almost undressing her with his eyes (which usually led to actually undressing her later but that's neither here nor there), but instead as a fighter might assess an enemy. He was sizing her up. Surely he did not intend on picking a fight with Page. "Yes?"

"You're staying in Cardiff."

Page stared at Jack, then looked at his friend and back at him. _Was that a inquiry or a command?_ "Excuse me?"

"You're staying in Cardiff. Trust me."

Page was going to comment but he stepped off to the side with Ianto. They were only away for a few seconds, then Ianto returned and the four of them left. It was just Jack and Page now. He turned back to her and Page smiled faintly. She let a bit of her defenses down, knowing that Jack would be able to get through them anyway. Page was exhausted, mentally and physically. All Jack did was look down at her and Page could feel the tears returning to her eyes. "Jack, its complicated and I really don't want to talk about it."

"MacLeod okay?"

Page looked up to him, a little baffled. As far as Jack knew the only thing that could make Page cry was if something happened to Duncan. In a way it did but it was not Duncan that devastated Page, it was Richie. She sighed and shook her head. "Yes and no. In the living and still has his head kind of way, yes he's fine. In the psychological kind of away… not so much. I told you Jack, its complicated." She looked down as they began to walk across the street, this time with no oncoming traffic. Page stuffed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and sighed, glancing over at Jack. "You still have that coat I see." He laughed and nodded. "So, mystery man. Why am I staying in Cardiff aside from the fact that this was as far as my money would take me and I should have planned things better because I didn't even keep enough money for a room." She looked up at Jack and shook her head. "Brilliant huh?"

"Don't worry Page. I can make arrangements. Trust me. You'll want to stay."

"Why?" Unfortunately by now Page had not learned the number one rule of dealing with Jack Harkness. Never ask "what" or "why".

He smirked stopping for a moment and turning her to face him. "Torchwood."


	3. Welcome to the Jungle

-1Page stopped and stared at him. "Torchwood?" He had this childish smile on his face, the kind of smile he always had when he was excited about something. Page studied him for a moment. He was waiting, rocking back and forth on his heels like a five year old with his hands stuffed into the pockets of the coat he had worn for the last two times Page saw him. She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "All right Jack, what's a Torchwood?"

"I'm so glad you asked Page," he told her almost leaping forward as the two began to walk again. Page had no idea how long they were walking. Jack told her everything, well probably not everything as Jack Harkness never told anybody EVERYTHING, just everything she needed to know. When they stopped the two were standing outside the Millennium Centre at Cardiff Bay. Page looked up at Jack and rolled her eyes again. "Aliens, Jack? Seriously?" She was not necessarily doubting him. After all she was Immortal and no one knew where they came from. Who the first was, why there was the Game. It just seemed far fetched, although Page learned long ago that anything Jack was involved in was usually far fetched.

"Yes, Page. Aliens. Come on don't tell me you've been around for two thousand years and never noticed anything odd." She nodded slowly, he had a good point, especially the last century. "Come on, I'll show you." Page rolled her eyes but smiled when Jack turned around and offered her his hand. She squeaked and jumped up onto his back, and he carried her like that the whole way to the Hub, causing the rest of the team to stare at them. Page and Jack had a very unique relationship.

"Hells bells," she whispered in amazement as she looked at the facility. "Whoa." She looked at Jack, who was smiling proudly. He took her around, after she climbed off his back, showed her the different rooms and introduced her to the team once more. Page spent the rest of that day, which was not to long, talking to Jack. For a normal day at Torchwood, it was rather quiet. The end of the day rolled around and Page said goodbye to Gwen and Tosh. She looked around and spotted a couch or possibly a bench, either way it looked far from inviting. "Sooo, Jack… What were these arrangements you were going to make? You don't have a hotel down here too do you?"

Jack laughed, walking up to stand next to Ianto. "Well there's always here…"

Page looked at him and glanced at Ianto, looking him up and down with a smile on her face that made the man blush. "I think it might be a little crowded Jack." The man laughed and shook his head making it clear that at least he would not mind it being a little more crowded.

"She can stay with me." The voice from behind her made Page jump and yelp a little. He had walked up right behind her. Page was too busy paying attention to Jack and Ianto to even notice until she heard his voice in her ear and was actually able to feel his breath on her neck. The offer came from Owen Harper.

Page smiled slightly, more of a smirk really. Owen Harper intrigued her. He had a very… unique personality. A kind of confidence that bordered so closely on arrogance. Jack seemed perplexed by the offer, as if it were out of character. Page did not see what Owen did but she was sure whatever it was, seemed more like Owen because Jack's confused look faded away and he laughed. "I guess that's up to Page."

The redhead turned around only to find that Owen was in fact only inches from her. Sapphire blue eyes, met dark brown ones and she smirked. He was cute, in a kind of arrogant way that only few people could get along with. She looked him up and down the way she had with Ianto and smiled. "I'm not seeing a problem Jack," she told Jack while still looking at Owen. Owen seemed to enjoy the way Page looked at him. It made her laugh inside. He was adorable in the way he thought he could charm her. Jack laughed and Page left with Owen. The ride in the car was quiet. She did not say a word until they were inside.

Most of the day Page had spent with Jack. She had very little interaction with the rest of the team, save Ianto. The image Page gave off upon first meeting them was a somewhat quiet one. She seemed a bit shy, reserved. If only they knew the truth. Page walked in and dropped her back on the floor before turning to Owen. "So… Owen Harper?"

"Doctor Owen Harper," he corrected her proudly.

Page caught Owen's eyes slide down her frame and she smirked. "Well, **Doctor** Owen Harper," she said as she walked up to him. Page placed two fingers beneath his chin and lifted his head up. "My eyes are up here." Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that flirting with this man in particular was probably a bad idea. It was part of her personality though, she had Jack to thank for that. Owen leaned forward moving in to kiss her as Page took a step back and turned around, looking around her for a moment. "So," she began, turning back to face Owen with a devilish smile on her face, "do I get the tour?"

Owen smiled and stepped up to her. He showed her around before ending, so predictably, in the bedroom. Page took a moment to look around Owen's bedroom, noticing the purple sheets, with a laugh, and the windows. She leaned against the wall and smirked. "Owen, are you an exhibitionist?"

For a moment he seemed shocked by the question. She seemed so shy and reserved back at the Hub, but here she was a completely different person. It took a moment for him to regain his composure and that cocky smile was planted on his face once again. "I am if you are."

Page pushed herself away from the wall, brushing passed him as she walked by. "There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance Owen Harper," she said softly, before turning to face him, standing in the center of the room, closer to his bed. She watched as he walked up to her, his footsteps almost silent in the dark room. "And you're flirting with it."

He stopped, only an inch from her. He could feel the heat from her body and he glanced down before meeting her eyes once more. "Always do, love." Page was shocked by his confidence it seemed to have no bounds. He had no attachments to people. Page could see it in his eyes, loss drove him to that point. What that loss was, Page was not going to ask. It was none of her business. She could relate to him on a level that she could not with the others. He did the same thing she did when she was in pain. She ran away from it, shut everyone out and became desensitized.

"So where do I get to sleep then?"

There was a long silence as Owen looked down at her. The look on his face, in his eyes made Page laugh and she rested her hands on his chest with a smile. "Owen." He met her eyes with interest. "I'm not having sex with you." As soon as she finished speaking the cocky smile disappeared from his face and he took a small step back.

"What was all that then eh?" He seemed somewhat insulted and it made Page laugh.

"The look on your face was adorable?"

Owen glared before rolling his eyes. "You're nothing but a tease Scott."

Page smirked and stepped closer, closing the gap between the two of them. She rested her hands on his chest once more before slowly sliding them over his shoulders and lacing her fingers in his hair behind his head. She pulled his head down, though there was very little resistance and pressed her lips against his. This was definitely not part of her fun little plan but he called her a tease. If she thought about it, she really was but she hated being called one. Page was surprised by his skill. Owen easily ranked among the top fifteen kissers she had in her two thousand year past. That was quite a feat considering how many men she had kissed in that span of time. He moved forward, she moved back. Page tripped over the edge of the bed and when she felt her back hit the mattress, and Owen land on top of her she knew she had taken this game too far. Page rolled so the positions switched and she finally pulled her lips away from Owen's, tugging at his lower lip with her teeth. She stood up and smiled. "I guess I kinda am." With that Page walked out of the room and grabbed her bag. She walked into the bathroom and changed into a white tank top and light blue pajama pants that hung low on her hips. She leaned against the doorframe of his bedroom and saw that Owen was still on his back on the bed. "You okay Harper?"

He lifted his head and looked up at her. "I hate you."

She smiled triumphantly and headed back out to the couch. "Goodnight Owen," she called after him.


	4. Freebird

-1Page woke early the next morning after owen shook her. When she woke she realized there was a blanket covering her that had not been when she fell asleep. She looked up at Owen and flashed him a smile. "I guess you don't hate me that much."

"You were screaming. I thought it would shut you up." Owen smirked and walked passed her into his room. "Get up, we're already late."

"I was screaming?" Page sat up slowly, running her thin fingers through her red hair. "What was I screaming about?" It had been years since Page had unsettling dreams like that. Why was she having them now?

"Something about a Richie," he answered from his bedroom. "Are you getting dressed? Come on Page!"

The girl sighed and finally got up to get dressed. Richie. Memories. They were still so fresh in her mind. It was only a few days previous that Richie died. She got dressed quietly and was ready in a matter of minutes. Page prided herself in being rather low maintenance. She was ready before Owen and when he walked out of his room Page was smiling. "Hurry up Princess."

Owen rolled his eyes and glared at her before he grabbed his keys and they left. As soon as Page entered the Hub she smelled it. It called to her and made her smile more than she had in the past few days. "Where is it Harkness," she shouted.

Jack simply pointed towards the pot of coffee and Page went running. She grabbed a mug and poured her a cup of coffee. The redhead brought the mug to her lips and took a slow savoring sip. She opened her mouth to speak but Jack interrupted her. "Don't thank me, thank Ianto."

Just as Jack said that Ianto walked in front of her. He was not listening and had not heard Jack. He had no idea anyone was talking about him until Page all but tackled him and he froze. "Good morning Page."

After a moment she let go of him and smiled. Page picked up the coffee mug once again and relaxed. "You're a miracle worker Ianto Jones." Ianto smiled shyly, blushing just slightly, and shrugged. "Seriously, you've got a magic touch."

"I'll say," Jack chimed in with a smirk that caused the younger man to blush and Page to laugh. He was more reserved than anyone Page had ever seen jack with in the past.

Page turned her blue eyes to meet Jack's when she felt his hand on her back. She followed him into his office and she sat down on his desk, crossing her blue jean clad legs "Indian style" as Jack sat down in his chair. "Yes?"

"Page, what's going on?" She looked away from him. The concern in Jack's voice reminded Page just how close the two really were. "What happened? Did something happen to MacLeod?"

"Jack…" It was the last thing Page wanted to talk about. The wounds were still fresh. "It's nothing, really."

"Page, I've known you for over a hundred years and I have never once seen you cry. Its not nothing. What's wrong?" Jack sighed and leaned forward, brushing Page's fiery red hair out of her face. He let his thumb gently touch her cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Ever since he first met Page, Jack had been protective of the girl.

**London, 1874:**

**_"_**_Back off!" Paige swung her fists at the larger brunette man. He grabbed Paige's wrist and pulled it back behind her and slammed her face first into on of the brick walls that created this small alley. She pushed back and kicked away from the wall. Paige had never been one for dresses and only wore them if her life was dependent on it. Therefore, this night, though it was unorthodox for a woman to wear men's clothing it was not dangerous, Paige wore black pants that clung tightly to her legs and a white shirt. Hidden in her wardrobe, very well concealed was a small arsenal of weaponry. Paige was a bit of a collector by that time. As she kicked backward the man fell, but his grip around her wrist and her waist caused Paige to fall with her. She heard a snap and felt her wrist break, forcing a loud scream from her throat. The man rolled so he was on top of her, her back to him. He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her head back._

_"I think she said back off." The voice was one that Paige did not recognize she could tell he was an American though. She felt the weight of the man pulled off her and rolled out of the way just in time to see this strange man's fist collide with her attacker's face. A few more well placed punches and the drunk was on his knees, then he was out cold. The American turned towards Paige and helped her up. She glared at him, though the smile he flashed her made her heart skip for a moment. "I could have handled that."_

_"Clearly." The sarcasm drenched his voice and he smirked at her causing her to roll her eyes. She noticed him pause for a moment when he looked at her, almost as if he were looking at a ghost. Just as quickly as the look came it was gone and that charming smile of his was back on his face. "You were doing so well. What was I thinking." He walked around her and made his way out of the alley. "You're welcome by the way."_

_Paige turned with him, her back now to her attacker on the ground. "For what? Saving my -" A shot rang out and Paige stopped speaking. Jack turned around only to see blood begin to pour from a wound in the center of her chest. She fell forward, dropping to her knees. Jack looked behind her and saw the man with his gun raised and a look of horror on his face. He had been aiming for Jack, but the girl got in his way. It was clear he had never taken a life before, let alone the life of a woman. Jack let him get up and run without going after him. He would find the guy later. Right now he was more concerned with the redhead on the ground._

_Jack dropped to his knees beside her and picked up her lifeless body. He looked down at the girl as she took her last breath. The rain that had gone unnoticed pelted Jack's face. He sat there for what seemed to him to be an eternity. The lifeless girl in his arms looked so familiar, but it was impossible. He had seen her in Rome, in the second century… B.C.. There was no way this was the same girl, but she bore a striking resemblance. Now he was left with her body and he had no idea what to do with it. Finally he stood, picking up her limp body and was heading out of the alley. Just as he stood she took in a sharp breath. Jack jumped when he heard her and dropped her. "What the hell? You were dead. I… I watched you die."_

**Present Day, Torchwood Hub**

Page sighed and caught Jack's gaze. "Jack, please, just drop it all right?" She watched him nod reluctantly. He did not want to let it go that easily but Jack knew if Page did not want to talk about it A) it was something very painful and B) she never would. He knew he would have to wait for her to come to him with the information and Jack was equally aware of the rarity of that possibility. Page was never one to open up to anyone, that was not about to change now. Or was it?

She fit in well with the group, inside and outside of the Hub. She was closest to Owen though, for obviously reasons. At the Hub they were at each other's throats, constantly bickering, picking on each other. Even at home they fought quite often. However, both had sleeping issues from time to time and it was those late night house on Owen's couch when they became close. They would talk for hours about everything and nothing. Page often ended up falling asleep on Owen's shoulder. Owen latched onto her in a way he had not with others. She was something constant in his life. The way she smiled, laughed, yelled. It never changed. It was a constant Owen could rely on, something he needed after what happened with Diane. She was that speck of light in the dark world of Torchwood.

Page saw a lot of herself in Owen. He was more complicated than most gave him credit for. Owen had been through a lot. Suffered greatly, though Page never knew the details. She saw it in his eyes. Page had been around for over two thousand years, she knew that kind of look. Because of his suffering, he pushed people away. He hid behind the mask of cynicism. Page could relate. Two thousand years of watching those around you die and knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it. She stopped getting close to people, pushed people away and hid behind a persona that was not her own.

Both of them hated the thought of being close to people. Emotional ties made you weak and they only lead to painful endings. The only exception seemed to be each other, though they did not seem to notice. Page did not even see what was happening. She was getting attached to him, to all of them just as she had with Richie. She realized it with Richie though and tried her best to distance herself. It had not worked but at least she was conscious of the attachment she formed. Here, at Torchwood, Page was completely oblivious to the connections she was making with these people. They were like a family that had adopted her, all held together by one man, Jack Harkness.

Page brought a sort of controlled insanity to the group. She was a tiny ball of energy. Jack called her Torchwood's Energizer Bunny. She was always going, constantly thinking. Jack was certain one day her brain would just explode. "Page!" Jack snapped, placing both hands on her shoulders. It had been a month since Owen Harper nearly ran her down with the Torchwood SUV. One months since Page had joined Torchwood. "Go talk to Owen or something… okay?"

Page simply shook her head and laughed as she walked out of Jack's office. She found Owen in the autopsy room. He was working, in the middle of an autopsy on a creature they found the night before. It had attacked and unfortunately did not survive. She sat down at the top of the stairs, her feet swung freely and she leaned forward on the rail. She knew exactly why Jack told her to go talk to Owen. It was no secret that Page enjoyed watching Dr. Owen Harper while he was working. When he was at the autopsy table he was so focused, he was in his element and Page was able to see how truly brilliant he was, though she would never inflate his ego by telling him. After a few moments of watching Owen paused and glanced up at her. Jack stood behind Page, but she had no idea he was there. Owen barely even registered it as he looked up at Page, flashing her a smile that was almost sweet.

For the first time that month Jack realized he may have made a mistake in bringing Page in. He finally saw how she was getting attached to the team, to Owen in particular, and how attached Owen was getting to her. Memories of the past year flashed in his mind, of Owen and Diane, of Owen when she left. He knew the way they would react. If something happened to either of them the other would be devastated and Jack never wanted Page to live through that, or Owen to suffer like that again. For Owen that would have been the third time in less than ten years. Jack sighed and turned around, walking away and leaving the two alone. It was too late to fix what had been done.

2 A.M. They were still awake, albeit barely. Page was having trouble sleeping, nightmares again. Owen said he would stay up with her. She got to see as side of Owen that no one else did. Owen sat on his couch, which acted as Page's bed for the moment and Page sat next to him. Her knees hugged closer to her chest as she sat there in a pair of shorts and a blue tank top. Her head rested on his shoulder and Owen absently played with her red hair. She had been silent for almost ten minutes now and Owen wondered if she was still awake. "Zep," he whispered softly. Jack first introduced her as Zeppie, but Owen had no idea how much of a Zeppelin fan she really was until one day two weeks ago when he walked into the autopsy room and saw her in there, scalpel in hand. She was using it as a microphone while listening to Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy". Since then Owen started calling her Zeppie, or just Zep.

She slowly looked up at him when he said her nickname and smiled. She caught his eyes for a moment and froze. He had just wanted to see if she was awake, but looking down at her blue eyes he could not look away. He was acting before thinking, before he even realized what he was doing. His hand moved up to cup her face as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. While his touch may have been timid, his kiss was far from. For a moment Page was surprised, but she knew the last thing Owen Harper was, was shy. Her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned into his kiss. His left hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head, lacing into her short fiery hair. A month of dancing around each other and living in such close quarters finally came to fruition. Page moved over so she sat on the couch, straddling Owen. His hands slid down her back and slipped under her tank top. Page laced her fingers in Owen's short brown hair, pulling him closer to her as he stood. He picked her up and carried her into his bedroom. That was the last night Page spent on the couch, and the only time the two ever had sex.


	5. In My Time of Dying

-1Ten thousand tiny daggers. That's what it felt like, ten thousand tiny daggers stabbing into Page's heart. The gunshot echoed and Page froze. It was as if the world was moving in slow motion as Owen fell backwards. Blood. Page had seen more blood in her life but still watching it pour from Owen Harper's chest made her stomach churn. The gunshot rang out and Page did not even remember screaming but she did. Crying out Owen's name. She moved towards him, running. Page did not know it, she would not remember most of the night, but Jack shot a look towards Ianto and he grabbed Page as she moved. Ianto Jones, the youngest member of Torchwood. He wrapped his arms around her waist holding her back. "Shhh," he whispered in her ear as she screamed. She wanted to get to Owen, to hold his hand to be there. Ianto was trying to keep her out of Martha's way. "Page…"

The redhead stopped fighting when she heard Martha. "He's dead." The words stopped Page's heart and she fell limp in Ianto's arms. Tears welled up in her eyes. After a moment Ianto let go of her. They picked up Owen's body. Page stared as they all climbed into the SUV. Jack cast her a glance and she took a small step back shaking her head. Not again. Page blamed herself. She got too close. She blamed Jack, he brought her there. She blamed Owen. Why did he have to be a big damn hero? He was a coward any other time, why did he suddenly pick now to play hero? Jack took a step towards her, to take her hand and she ran off. He knew better than to go after her though. If Page did not want to be found she would make sure she couldn't be. After all she spend fifteen hundred years blending into her surroundings.

Chaos. That seemed like an adequate term. He was dead. He knew he was supposed to be dead and yet, he was walking, talking, thinking. Owen did not have a lot of time recently to reflect on this though. Now that things calmed down, now that it was over, he had some time. He looked around the Hub and saw everyone working when he finally realized someone was missing. Page. First he asked Ianto, who said he had not seen Page since the night Owen died. Then Gwen, she gave the same general answer, as did Tosh. They all tried to call her but Page left her phone in the Hub. She could not be reached. Finally Owen turned to the one person who knew her better than any of them, Jack. "Do you know where Page is," he asked as he approached Jack.

Jack stopped and looked down, hesitating before he turned toward Owen. "If you're lucky she hasn't actually left yet, but knowing her she's probably long gone by now. I'm sorry." Jack looked away as he echoed the first words he ever said to Owen Harper.

"Gone? What… wait," he paused as Jack began to walk away. "She doesn't know?" He saw Jack shake his head and with that Owen took off. The two had become close in a very odd kind of way ever since Page arrived. They clicked in an unconventional way. Page and Owen were very much alike and it caused the two of them to gravitate towards each other, though at the same time they constantly argued. When it really counted though they brought out the best in each other. Owen let hid guard down for the second time since Katie. He was not going to let this one get away, not like last time. Owen knew exactly why Page was not there. If their positions had been switched Owen probably would have done the exact same thing.

Page was putting the last of her things in the bag. This was the exact reason she never got close to people, especially mortals. They died. They always died. It never lasted, happiness. She was just starting to enjoy her life again, to forget about the young Immortal she saw as a brother, to forget about Duncan and Richie. She blamed Jack for this. He brought her there. He brought her to Torchwood. He did this to her. Jack knew what was happening. Surely he had to have seen it, yet he said nothing. He let Page get attached and now look what came of it.

Page stood in Owen's room, her room. They shared the room. Page was possibly the only woman that had shared a bed with Owen Harper and did not have sex with him. With the exception of one time. She had gotten sick of sleeping on his couch and started sneaking into his bed at night when he was asleep. Page was sure he knew but Owen never said anything. She packed away her clothes and picked up the silver necklace that Owen often wore. Page held it in her hand for a moment, staring at it before tossing it into her bag.

"That's called stealing you know."

The voice made Page's blood run cold. It was impossible and Page was sure that when she turned around he would be gone, that it was just a figment of her imagination. That had to be it. She was wrong. Page turned around and sure enough there was Owen standing in front of her as though nothing had happened. Page dropped the bag and took a step forward. She wished she could have been happy. Under another circumstance she would have thrown her arms around him and embraced him maybe even kissed him, which is what Owen was expecting. But he could not be alive, it was wrong. She could not sense him, he should not be there. Owen took a step forward to embrace her but she shoved passed him and stormed out.

She had a bit of a head start. Owen had been stunned by her reaction. She looked so angry. He had no idea why she was angry. Owen did not know what she was, about her past. He was sure she would be so happy that he was there, but she looked so angry. There was hatred in her eyes. By the time he got back to the Hub he could hear yelling. Owen moved to enter the closed room, but Gwen stopped him, taking a hold of his wrist gently and shook her head.

"Was it worth it Jack? Whatever information he had… was it worth it? What did you do?"

"We brought him back Page." Jack's voice was rather calm yet still commanding, while Page's was frantic. She was screaming. It was a side no one on the team had ever witnessed. It was unsettling to all of them. The four of them stood in a line, staring: Tosh, Gwen, Owen, and Ianto.

"Brought him back? No Jack you didn't! I don't know what you brought back but it's not Owen!" She could not hide the anger in her voice, no matter how much she tried. "How could you do this to him, Jack? Why couldn't you just let him die?!" From outside Owen could hear the tears in Page's voice. Owen knew her the best, with the exception of Jack. She opened up to him, probably because they lived together. He saw Page in a way that the others did not. Every word she shouted with hatred in her voice, cut him deeper than any gunshot wound ever could. He would never dare show it though. He flinched slightly at her screaming and realized that Gwen was still holding his wrist, which he quickly pulled away. "You of all people should know that Jack! What's dead should stay dead!" Jack moved forward to embrace her, to try and calm her down but she pushed him away before storming out and shoving her way passed Ianto and Owen.

Owen tried to stop her but she ignored him. "Page… wait." He followed her outside, almost running to catch up with her. When he did he grabbed her wrist tightly, preventing her from walking any farther. He forced her to turn around and face him only to be met with tear filled blue eyes that, had his heart still been beating, would have made it stop. He had never seen her cry like this, openly, freely. He wanted to say something but his mind was coming up empty. Her words to Jack were like tiny daggers.

"Let go of me." Page glared at Owen as if this was all his fault.

Owen gripped her wrist tight and pulled back, causing her to crash into him. "Don't you dare blame me," he shouted. "I didn't ask for this!"

Page flinched when he shouted. Fear crept into her sapphire eyes. "Let go of me Owe-" but she could not finish it. This was not Owen.

"Say it." Page said nothing. "Say it!" Again, nothing. "SAY IT!"

Page finally wrenched her arm from his grip and pushed Owen away. "There's nothing to say! Owen Harper is dead!" With that she turned and began to walk away from him.

"I'm right here," he called after her but she did not respond. He turned to leave only to stop dead. It seemed like slow motion. Owen looked up and saw Jack running towards him, shouting Page's name. Then Owen heard the sound of screeching tires, a crash, then a car take off. When he turned around he saw a body on the ground in the street. As he ran towards it all he could do was hope by some miracle it was not Page. Sadly he found Page, lying on the ground eyes wide open, staring up at him. He dropped to his knees beside her and held her close. Owen looked up at Jack, on the verge of tears that he could not cry, while holding Page's lifeless body.

Jack knelt next to Owen and put his hand on the doctor's shoulder. Owen picked up Page's body and began to carry her back to the Hub. "Owen!" Jack walked up to him and shook his head. "You can't take her back there."

"What?" There was a hint of anger in Owen's voice. If he wanted to, he could trace all of this back to Jack. Every bit of pain he felt for the last five years he could trace back to Jack Harkness, but he was not about to leave that kind of guilt on Jack. Jack had enough to deal with. "Where am I supposed to take her Jack? I can't leave her here." His voice was strained. Owen had never really noticed how much she really weighed until that moment. Carrying her when she slept was something different. She would usually wake up a little and wrap her arms around his neck. Now she was completely limp, lifeless in his arms.

Jack's voice was calm but there was remorse in his eyes. "Take her home Owen. I'll go with you if you want, but you have to take her home."

Owen stared at Jack. "Wha… What do you mean take her home?"

Jack did not answer him but his face told Owen it was a command. Owen nodded and he, along with Jack, took Page's body back to Owen's. He set her gently on his couch, sitting on the edge next to her and gently holding her hand. "Owen, you cannot tell anyone about this."

"Jack what's going on?!" Just as he finished speaking he heard something behind him. A sharp breath and the pale hand he held jerked from his grasp. Owen turned and saw Page sitting up, staring at Jack. It took her a moment to even notice that Owen was there. "What's going on?" Owen looked at Jack and stood. "She's like you?"

Jack looked to Page, expecting some kind of explanation from her. She was simply staring at Owen. Jack knew why and knew she would not be able to answer. She was in shock. "Yes and no." He went on to explain about Immortals and the world that Page lived in, though he hid how old Page truly was and the fact that he had actually met her before she had become Immortal. It was a fact not even Page knew. He glanced back and forth between the two of them and took a deep breath, clearing his throat. "I should get back before they start to suspect something."

He left, leaving Page and Owen alone. Jack was intuitive. He knew they needed time to sort things out. Owen looked at Page, who had said nothing the whole time. Only two people ever stuck around when she had died. With the exception of the man that found her (and that was after she died and came back another six times), there were only two. Duncan MacLeod and Jack Harkness. Owen was there though when she woke, holding her hand. Of all the members of Torchwood 3, Owen was the last person she expected to see. She looked around and finally realized she was at home and not at the Hub. He took her home. Page looked up at Owen before she stood. Owen glared at her, he had every right to be angry with her. "You never said anything, to any of us."

"Everyone has secrets. Don't lecture me!" She snapped at him before walking into his room to grab her bag.

Owen grabbed her upper arm and clenched his hand around it tight enough to bruise. "Look at me!" He pulled Page back to him, again causing her to hit him once more and he grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him. "What is your problem?"

"It would still be a secret, we wouldn't have this problem if it weren't for you!"

Page pulled away from him and shoved him back. No one in Page's recent memory had ever forced her to lash out like this. No one had ever had an effect on her the way Owen Harper did. He knew what buttons to push to piss her off, make her smile, turn her on. He had only known her for a few months and he learned what made her tick. "You had to play hero OWEN! You had to go and get yourself shot!" She slapped him across the face and shoved him back. Owen tripped and fell backwards, smacking his head against the side of the couch. "YOU DIED OWEN!"

Page ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned against the wall in the corner, across the room from the door and slowly sank down to the floor. Tears flooded her eyes. She mentally scolded herself for letting this guy get to her the way he had. For so long she had been without connections, without pain. Page hugged her knees to her chest and covered her face with her hands. She completely broke down, her body quaked as she sobbed quietly.

The door opened slowly and Owen made his way quietly across the dark room. He knelt down next to Page. Before he could speak she latched onto his shirt and leaned into him, burying her face in his chest. He held onto her, letting her cry. It was an almost foreign feeling. A memory from a far off time. So much had happened since the last time he had been in this kind of position. Owen looked down at the redhead and he latched onto her. Last time he failed, he let her down. _Katie_. He was not going to make the same mistake again. Not that he would ever say that his feelings for Page (if there were any at all) were anywhere near as strong as his feelings for Katie had been. He held her close to him and lowered his head, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry Zeppie," he whispered, repeating the words over and over as if that would help. Owen held her until she fell asleep. He then picked her up and placed her on the bed. She continued to clutch his shirt though, so Owen laid down next to her. He no longer slept, so he was up all night and held onto her. As he watched her sleep he looked out the window and finally realized that things would never be the same.


	6. I'll Cover You

-1She opened her eyes slowly. The large windows allowed the sunlight to shine in and illuminate the bedroom. Page was curled up in the bed covered by blankets. As she looked around for a moment she realized her head was resting on Owen's chest. She had not noticed before. The girl strained her ears to hear a heartbeat that did not exist. Page knew Jack brought Owen back, but she had no idea that he was technically dead. She jumped slightly as she felt a deathly cold hand on her shoulder. Page had not realized until then that the shirt she had been wearing that night was gone and she was curled up in her black bra. Owen's shirt was gone as well. It took a moment for Page to remember all the blood from the accident. She opened her eyes once more, hoping to feel the rise and fall of Owen's chest, but there was nothing and it broke her heart all over again.

They both remained silent for a long time. Neither knew what to say. They had never been emotional people but the previous night was something completely different. It was draining for both of them. "Zep." Owen's voice was soft, hushed when he finally spoke. It sent chills down Page's spine. When Page looked up at him, her damaged blue eyes left Owen speechless. Suddenly their lives, or lack of in some cases, seemed so much more complicated. His skin was cold, there was no breath, no pulse.

That was not the worst part for Page though. When she looked up at him, his dark brown eyes were empty, dead. She would have given anything to put life back in those eyes. Page sat up slowly and looked down at Owen. "What is it?"

He was beginning to realize exactly what he lost when Jack brought him back and for a moment Owen was unsure if he could handle it. "I can't feel it."

Page watched him, studying his movements, his eyes. She let her pale fingertips touch his cheek. "What?"

Owen grabbed her hand and locked eyes with her. His eyes darted back and forth as if trembling just as much as his hand was. "You." His voice shook as Page placed a small kiss on his forehead, more for her benefit than his as he could not actually feel it.

"Come on, we'll be late." As soon as she spoke Owen snapped out of it and sat up. He got dressed and waited in the kitchen for Page to do the same. When Page emerged from the bedroom she wore a pair of Owen's blue jeans and his Invader Zim t-shirt.

"Oi, Page, why're you wearin' my clothes?"

She paused for a moment and smirked. "Umm… because I can?" Page laughed and walked up to Owen. She reached behind him to grab the keys and smiled proudly. "You can wear mine if you want Owen."

Two days had passed since the night Page was killed and woke up with Owen holding her hand. Neither Owen, nor Jack said anything to the team about it. None of them knew. As the two got ready for work that morning, Page thought that the day would be quiet. Everyone was getting back to life. Getting used to the fact that Owen was indeed still around. Everyone but Owen. Even Page had trouble just pretending it did not happen. When the two arrived at the hub Page quickly realized that the day would be far from quiet. Three days after Owen's death and Martha was still there. It was not a good sign. Not that Page had anything against Martha. She was amazingly talented and so sweet. The redhead simply knew that having her there meant that Owen was not working.

Ianto helped ease the tension a bit though with a quip about Page wearing Owen's clothes once again. "Page, you do have clothes of your own don't you?" he asked her with a smirk.

She approached the baby of the team and chuckled. "Of course I do. In fact, Owen asked to wear mine, but I said no. Those bony hips of his would stretch them out."

Ianto smiled as Owen shot a glare towards him and Page. "Truth comes out now."

The moment was quickly soured though. Page said hello to Martha just as Jack asked to have a word with Owen. Page stared silently as Owen and Ianto joined Jack in his office. She knew what was coming, or at the very least had a good idea. Page's suspicions were confirmed to an extent when she glanced at Martha and Martha looked away. Mometns later Page saw Owen emerge from Jack's office with Ianto. He followed Ianto over to the coffee maker and Page sighed. That was not Owen's place. It was not his home, his natural habitat. He belonged in the autopsy room. That was his part in this team. It was all he had now. She stood a few years behind Ianto and watched silently.

He was so frustrated. Page could see it in his eyes. The whole of the hub was tense. Everyone could feel it. The day passed by slowly and when Owen finally left Page had been talking to Gwen. She glanced up in time to see Owen grab his coat and walk out. As Page looked back at Gwen she could see the concern on the younger woman's face. "He'll be all right Gwen. Owen's resilient."

The day inched on, agonizingly slow. Owen did not return and he stopped answering his phone. Page was getting worried and a few hours after Owen left, Page followed. Torchwood, being a doctor, the team. It was Owen's life. It was his identity and Jack stole that from him. Page tried her best not to be angry with Jack. She knew Jack was only trying to help. As Page approached Owen's flat she was unsure of what she expected but it certainly was not what she found. The place was entirely cleaned out. The refrigerator was emptied and the fruit on the table was gone. Page sighed loudly and dropped her coat on the back of the couch before searching out Owen.

She found him cleaning out the bathroom and knocked on the open door. Her eyes rolled when she got no answer. "Owen! Stop."

He looked up, holding a bottle of shampoo in one hand and a half-filled garbage bag in the other. "What for? I'm never going to need this stuff again anyway. Why keep it?"

Page sighed, shaking her head and groaned as she stepped forward. "Owen, I get that you're dead and having an emotional breakdown right now. I get it, really I do… but you have to stop this. You've thrown away all the food, everything there was to drink."

"So? What do I need it for?"

"You don't Owen! But I live here too remember? I need food, I need to drink. And," she paused and pointed to the shampoo bottle in Owen's hand, "that's mine!"

Owen looked down at the bottle. "Oh, so it is." He remained still for a moment, as if thinking of something. "Oh well." He tossed it into the bag and got back to work.

"Owen!" Page ripped the bag from his hand and pulled him out of the bathroom, forcing him to sit on the couch, then she sat down next to him. "Talk to me. Please."

Just as Owen opened his mouth to speak there was a knock on the door. Page sighed as Owen stood and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Tosh, holding a box of pizza. Page knew Tosh meant well, she knew that Tosh cared about Owen. Page only wished Tosh knew the heartache she was setting herself up for. Page stood and grabbed her coat. "I should get back." She headed for the door only to stop and face Owen. "Oh, by the way, Owen, stop throwing away my shit." With that she walked out.

Page returned to the hub, but avoided everyone. At least she tried to until Ianto confronted her. "You all right? You haven't said a word to anyone all day."

"I'm fine Ianto."

"You're lying." He smirked and took a step closer, hoping it would ease the tension. "I know everything remember?"

Page sighed and fought the smile on her face. "Does it say that on the bottom of the screen too," she teased.

Ianto simply laughed and led her off to the side, over by the coffee maker. "What's wrong?"

"Owen." She sighed and leaned against the counter holding the coffee mugs. "Its ridiculous. I know he's upset right now. I get it. But he's losing it, spiraling and none of you seem to see it! I came home and found him cleaning out the house, throwing away everything, the food the drinks, my shampoo, MY shampoo and my conditioner mind you, not just his stuff, my stuff and its ridiculous. And he won't listen to me, he won't talk to me. He just has this constantly empty look in his eyes because Jack took away his identity and… and oh god, then Tosh came over and I love her dearly but Owen does not need that right now. He doesn't. The last thing he needs to worry about right now is hurting Tosh's feelings. He's lost, he's drowning and I don't know how to help him." It seemed as though she went on forever, without taking a breath and by the time she was done she was in tears.

Ianto watched her. She continued ranting about the food and he placed his index finger over her lips. "Shhh." He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulder after gently wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Page, its not your job to fix Owen." Her blue eyes searched his and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. Ianto had never witnessed the redhead cry. Even the first day he met her, she had wiped the tears away before he got a look at her. "Give him time. Give him space. He'll be all right." Ianto pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and he felt her body shake as he clenched her hands around the vest he wore and sobbed into his chest. "Shhh," he whispered gently rubbing her back.

She was exhausted by the time she got home. She made it back before Owen after seeing Martha leave. Page was too exhausted to even make it to the bedroom and she collapsed on the couch. Owen returned home a little more than an hour after her. When he opened the door he noticed that the lights were off and the television was left on. He quietly closed the door and headed towards his room. Owen stopped when he noticed Page sleeping on the couch. Normally she was such an insomniac. The last few nights though she slept peacefully.

Owen sighed and sat down. He lifted her head up gently and rested it on his lap. The dead man absently played with her hair. He thought about he girl on the roof and the things she had to say about Page. She was a good friend. Don't let go of her. She's special. As Owen sat in reflection Page woke up. He glanced down when he noticed her stir. The girl sat up slowly and smiled at him. She brought her knees up to her chest as he turned to face her. "You were brilliant." Owen, in his element. Sure, there was a moment when Page worried she would never see Owen again. It was that night that made Page truly realize that Owen would be all right. "Oh and, a little suggestion, next time you want to go for a dip in the bay, lose the clothes. Or at least put them in the dryer when you come home."

The two laughed and Page saw Owen smile, truly smile for the first time since the day he was shot. His smile faded though. "Why were you leaving? When I got shot. Why were you leaving?"

She looked down, afraid to answer his question. Answering that question meant admitting things that she did not even want to admit to herself. "I was getting too close… to all of you. I had to get away." She slowly looks up to meet eyes with Owen. "You were dead… I let myself care about you and you left me! Just like everyone else. They always leave. And every time it tears your heart out."

"You think I don't know that?" Owen shook his head and looked away from her for a moment. "I know loss, Page."

"Owen, Diane, or… whatever her name was. That was different. She wasn't dead. You didn't watch her die!"

"That's not what I'm talking about." He took a deep breath and slowly turned his gaze towards her once more. "Before I moved here, before I joined Torchwood, before I met Jack fucking Harkness," Owen paused to calm himself. "I was engaged. She was the most beautiful girl. Perfect. I loved her. Every bit of me loved her." He took a deep breath and noticed the look on Page's face and the fact that the redhead had moved closer to him. "She… she started to forget things. Little things at first. They thought it was early onset Alzheimer's." Page could tell as she listened to him that it was still hard to talk about. He had not told anyone about Katie. The only person who knew was Jack. "Turns out it was a tumor. She went in for surgery and Jack showed up. All he said was 'I'm sorry'. I'll never forget it. It was no tumor. It was an alien." Owen looked down bit his lip for a moment before he remembered it would not heal if he cut it. "She died."

Page looked down and was silent for the longest time. She had no idea what to say to Owen. Page did the only thing she could think of and leaned forward, placing a small kiss on his cheek. She turned so her back was to Owen and leaned back against him as he wrapped one arm around her. "No." It was a simple, concise answer to a question Owen never asked. "It does not get any easier. Not even after two thousand years. That's why I was leaving. To avoid as much pain as I could. I'm nothing but a coward Owen"

"Don't say that," he whispered into her ear. "You didn't leave. You stayed." Owen closed his eyes, wishing so badly that he could feel the warmth of her skin but there was nothing. "Its human nature. To avoid the things that cause us pain or discomfort." He kissed the top of her head as she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep in his arms. They were both sinking into this state of co-dependence on each other. A state that would only cause heartbreak in the future.


	7. Hysteria

Page hated weddings. Well, not weddings in particular, social gatherings of any kind in general. It was not that she had a fear of crowds, just a large hatred for them. This was no exception, especially when everyone looked at the five of them; Jack, Owen, Tosh, Ianto, and Page, as if they were freaks. Gwen's wedding had been chaotic. However it was the calm part, the reception that made Page so nervous. She hated the way these people looked at her because she associated with the rude American that interrupted Gwen's wedding. It was part of Page's nature to blend in. She spent two thousand years blending in. While she was more social now than five hundred years ago, it was only in a small group like Torchwood. In a crowd, Page preferred to blend in. Jack made that almost impossible though. He naturally brought attention to himself with those 51st century pheromones. She stood in the corner of the banquet hall where the reception was being held and scanned the room until she noticed Owen sitting alone at one of the tables. Page crossed the room and sat down next to Owen. "You don't want to be here do you?" She leaned back and rested her hand on Owen's shoulder with a loud sigh.

He glanced down at her, moving only his eyes and nodded slowly. "I don't really like weddings." Page nodded in agreement. Owen had every right to dislike weddings.

Page looked around the room at everyone. "I think we're a little underdressed."

Owen glanced down at Page. "Who's undressing where?" When she looked up at him he smirked and Page simply rolled her eyes.

"What do you care? Nothing you can do about it anyway," she said with a smirk. Page sighed once more and looked out at the reception. "Look at Tosh, even Jack looks more formal than us." Page looked down at their clothes. Both her and Owen wore black jeans, a dark t-shirt and a leather jacket. "Even Ianto."

"Page… Ianto always wears that…"

Page sighed and let her head drop back for a moment before she rested it against Owen's shoulder once more. "I know, but still… I feel so… blah."

Owen laughed and shook his head. He glanced down at her, again just moving his eyes and smiled. "Would you rather be in a dress?"

Page sat up quickly and looked over at Owen with wide blue eyes. "Are you out of your mind? Oh god no." For a moment she looked disgusted at the thought. Page had not worn a dress in over two hundred years and she had no plans on starting again now. She hated dresses, or anything overtly feminine. She looked around once more at everyone and sighed loudly. "Its gonna be a long night." Just as she finished speaking she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Page turned around to see Ianto standing behind her. She looked up at him, a look of confusion on her face. "D'ya want to dance?"

She glanced back at Owen, who was smiling then up at Ianto. "I… I don't…"

"Bull shit," Ianto responded with a smile. "You dance. I've seen you, all the time in the hub, so you have no excuse."

She stood and considered it for a moment. She was all but forced to dance with him when Owen shoved her forward, and Ianto grabbed her wrist. He smirked and pulled her forward, wrapping his other arm around her waist. As Ianto dragged her out onto the dance floor she caught a glimpse of Jack smiling. Page shot him an icy glare, which of course only made him smile more. The song was quiet, slow, Page did not recognize it but she did notice that Ianto was an incredibly good dancer. She looked up, catching his blue eyed gaze. "You good at everything you do?"

He smiled confidently but Page caught a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "Yes, actually I am." The two laughed and Page rolled her eyes. Ianto had wormed his way into the girl's heart, much the same way Richie did. She was incredibly protective of him, saw him as a younger brother. It was slightly ironic that Ianto looked to Page as a younger sister, even though she was two thousand years his senior and if she had not been Immortal would still be older than him.

The song was quickly over and Page returned to her seat next to Owen. She glared at him and he simply smiled. "I hate you."

Owen laughed and leaned over, whispering in her ear. "Liar." He glanced down at her and smirked, biting at her ear before he leaned back. He may not have been able to do anything, but that did not change the fact that now he could tease her just as ruthlessly as she teased him when they first met. It had not taken long for Owen to learn exactly what to do to send chills down Page's spine.

She pretended to ignore it but she shivered a little when she felt his teeth grip her ear. She turned bright red when she heard a voice behind her. "You two might want to get a room for that." Page dropped her head back and saw Jack standing behind her. She smiled nervously and blushed a deep shade of red, that almost matched her fiery hair. He sat down next to her at the table and was soon followed by Tosh, Ianto, Gwen and Rhys. Page liked Rhys. He was a nice guy, and Page fit in very well when she spent time with Gwen and Rhys. He had no idea what she was, how old she was. It was refreshing to Page. For someone not to know. Though, the only members of Torchwood that knew the truth were Owen and Jack. The group was talking and Page looked around at the room only to noticed that everyone else was sleeping. She cast a small look over to Jack who simply smirked. A few moments later the others noticed and Jack said that he added retcon to everyone's drinks. Page rolled her eyes and laughed. Before they left though, she offered to help Ianto clean up the place. She hated seeing him do the work alone. Ianto was not a janitor, in her mind he was just as much a member of the team as everyone else. He did not deserve to be in charge of clean up.

Life was quiet after that, for a while. Quiet by Torchwood's standards anyway. Owen seemed to be adjusting well to the fact that he was dead. There had not been any emotional breakdowns as of late. Page did start sleeping on the couch again though, after Owen died. She was beginning to get to close to him. It hurt her so badly when Owen died. She knew she was getting too close. She had to distance herself. However distancing herself physically from him did not seem to be helping.

When the end came, it came out of nowhere, so quickly. No one saw it coming, and no one would be the same. Lives changed that night, in more ways than anyone could ever imagine. It started in the morning. It was routine. At least they thought it was. Strange energy signals after a spike in rift activity. The building was old, abandoned. The five of them pulled up in the SUV. Ianto was still trying to get a hold of Gwen. When they got there, they split up. Jack and Tosh were together and Ianto went with Owen, leaving Page on her own. That was fine with her. She was more independent than the others when it came to field work anyway. The fact that Page could not die was also a plus, though the team was mostly unaware of that, save Jack and Owen. None of them saw it coming until it was too late. Small cubes laying on the floor. Explosives. The last thing that ran through Page's mind before everything went black was Ianto, Owen, and Tosh.

**Seven months ago:**

_"E……5" They had split up. Spread out around the city on a Weevil hunt. Two weeks after Page first met Torchwood._

_"Damn…" Tosh's voice came across the coms from back at the Hub, and Page laughed._

_"Oi, what are you doin'?"_

_"Shut up Owen," Jack said with a laugh. "E4. Wait your turn Harper! Oh, and Tosh… that battleship is going down."_

_"HA! Nope. Still floatin'."_

_"D5." It was Ianto's turn to chime in. He had gone with Page when they split up and he glanced at the redhead with a triumphant smile._

_"Damn, that was the last one too."_

_Page patted Ianto on the back and smirked. "Not bad for a teaboy." Then suddenly she went down. The Weevil was on top of her, attempting to gnaw her head off. "IANTO!"_

_Ianto pulled the weevil off and they were able to get it sedated and bring it back to the Hub. After Page and Ianto locked it up in the Weevil cages she looked over at the younger, blue-eyed man and smiled. "Thanks… Saved my life. Dying in my second week, that would have been awkward." She laughed and gave the man a hug. "And rather pathetic since I'm sure Jack bragged about how amazing I am…"_

_They headed back upstairs and Ianto smirked. "Not really. Annoying, talkative, loud… never amazing." Page playfully shoved him into the wall and laughed._

**Cardiff 2008 (present):**

Reality came rushing back to Page and she sat up. Lucky for her she had not been so close to the bombs. There was not a lot of debris covering here. She brushed herself off, looking at the cuts and bruises. They healed quickly. Page breathed a small sigh of relief that no one was around to see that. Then suddenly she remembered the others. Ianto and Owen were closest to her. "IANTO!" She climbed over the fallen pieces of stone, searching for the men. "OWEN!" When she found Owen, Gwen was helping him up, careful of the glass that was hanging over his head. Page grabbed his other arm and just as they pulled him out the glass fell. It caught Page's arm, cutting it but she ignored it. The wound would heal soon enough. Page, Gwen, and Owen got outside and found Jack, Tosh, Ianto, and Rhys. Page looked over at Jack. "That was preemptive strike Jack." She took a deep breath. Page knew a rising battle when she saw one. She knew when war was on her doorstep. "Where the hell did it come from. Someone was trying to take us out."

The answer came quick enough. Page had heard a lot about John Hart. Especially when she first got there. They did not trust her right away because of that man. He was someone from Jack's past and it ended badly. Page was someone from Jack's past and they feared the same problem. There was more though, more than just John. Another man. Page looked up at Jack. She could see the tears hiding behind his eyes. Brother? Gray. Page knew instantly that this was going to end badly. She had no idea just how painful it would be, the lives that would be lost, the damage that would be done. She had no idea what was about to happen to them, to Cardiff. The SUV was gone, but Rhys' car was there, so they had to pile seven people into his tiny car. It was an interesting feat but it was managed somehow. Rhys drove, Gwen sat next to him. In the back was Owen, Jack and Ianto. Sitting half on Ianto's lap and half on Jack's was Tosh and Page was sitting on Owen's lap. Her hands were shaking and she looked over at Jack. They were the only two that had seen real war. The only two even slightly prepared for what was ahead of them and that terrified Page. She felt a cold hand on hers and glanced down to see Owen take her hand and give it a slight squeeze that was meant to tell her everything would be all right… but to her it felt so much like goodbye.


	8. Who Wants to Live Forever

She was on the roof of the hospital with Owen. The explosions reverberated through the entire city. She saw it all go up in flames. It was the single most terrifying moment of her life. Two thousand years of life and nothing frightened her the way this did. "Oh god…" She looked back at Owen. He was staring in awe. This was his home now and it was under attack. Everyone quickly came to their senses though. It was times like these when Torchwood was truly needed, put to the test and Page was not about to let them fail. Her and Owen returned to the hospital and got to work quickly, splitting up.

The power was off, all the machines were down. The machines that held the precious mortals' lives in the balance. Page stood in the hall for a moment before her and Owen split up. He turned to face her and saw the hopeless look in her eyes. All these lives cut short. They had so much to live for and they would never see any of it. Owen put his hands on Page's shoulders. "Zep. Zeppie." She looked up at him with hidden tears in her eyes. "You have to be strong right now Zep. Promise me. Promise me you'll be strong, no matter what." He kissed her forehead lightly as she nodded and the two split up, going to work. "Do whatever I tell you to, all right Zep. Follow my lead." Tosh and Ianto left the city center and were headed towards the nuclear power plant. The controls were offline and it was going to melt down. Page only hoped they made it there in time.

"Owen, Page, Gwen, can you hear me?" Ianto's voice was hushed, almost a whisper over the comms. "The streets are flooded with Weevils. They came out of nowhere. There's not chance we'll get to the nuclear power station in time."

"Ianto… leave it to me. I can get there." Page was two floors above him when she heard the words. Words that made her blood run cold.

"Owen you're not playing hero again!" Page went running through the hall, trying to find Owen before he left.

"How?" Ianto asked.

"King of the Weevils, remember?"

"Owen, wait I'm coming with you." She ran down the stairs as fast as she could to catch up with Owen. It was a time sensitive matter and she knew Owen could not wait long for her. They ran as fast as they could towards the plant. Chaos was all around them, yet the two were completely focused, almost oblivious to everything but their goal. Just in them. They arrived and Page set to work getting everyone out. She was going to meet Owen in the control room when Tosh's words echoed in her mind. Lockdown. "Owen," she whispered. Her feet took off before her brain could even register it. She ran down the hall faster than she had ever run in her life, towards the closing door. "OWEN!!" She wasn't fast enough. Her heart stopped for a moment as she heard the doors seal shut. No chance for escape. He couldn't get out. He was trapped. Page pounded on the doors, but there was no point. "OWEN!!"

When Tosh managed to calm him down he looked towards the doors. "Get out of here Zeppie… GO!"

"No… I'm not leaving."

"PAGE! They need you back at the hub… there's nothing you can do just go!"

"NO!!" Her scream was desperate, broken. She pounded on the door again, but it did nothing but cause more frustration.

"**PAGE!** Please, Zeppie… go… get out of her please."

Her stomach turned and her heart wrenched as she walked away, getting out of the building. As soon as she was outside her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground. "Goodbye," she whispered through her tears.

"Its all right… Really… its all right." Page was unsure how long she sat there crying, screaming. She pulled the earpiece out of her ear and threw it as far as she could and just started screaming. In two thousand years Page had never felt anything that hurt as badly as this did. She was shattered on the inside. Jack could not bring him back from this. Owen Harper, always the reluctant hero. She screamed her lungs out. Cursing Jack Harkness, Duncan MacLeod and anyone that ever made her care. Before she met Duncan she was shy, anti-social. She did not talk to anyone and therefore she did not get close to anyone. It was Jack that made her create relationships though. Even with Duncan there was nothing deep about their relationship, not until after she met Jack Harkness. He made her care, told her that people were worth caring about. Liar. Yet, during all her screaming all her blaming she could not bring herself to hate Jack. She just wanted to feel his arms around her. Jack had that comforting effect on people.

It was over. He was gone. Owen was gone. Page forced herself to her feet, pushed by will alone to make it back to the hub. "JACK! GWEN!" When she got there though, the first one she saw was John. She pulled her gun and aimed it at him. He stood in front of her and simply shook his head, raising his arms and welcoming the bullets she intended to shoot. "Where's Jack?" John nodded toward the autopsy room. When Page took a few steps forward John stepped in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry." Then he took a step to the side and Page entered the room to find Jack standing over Toshiko's body on the table. He was working frantically, though he was no medic and it was messy.

"TOSH!" Page moved to run to her friend but Ianto grabbed her around the waist, holding her back and out of the way.

She struggled against Ianto's grasp. Images of Owen, lying on the ground bleeding to death ran through both their heads. He held her close and she fell limp in his arms. They knew. Owen was gone, all of them knew. Ianto held her up as she turned to face him, tears flooded from her eyes. "I know…" He could not bring himself to say any more than that to her. It was no secret that Ianto and Owen fought. They were like brothers though, and brothers constantly fought. His loss was one that the entire team would feel. Page latched on to Ianto and broke down completely, and found Ianto was not just holding her up, but clinging to her as well.

She had cried herself to sleep in Ianto's arms as Jack and Gwen did their best to patch up Toshiko. Only one member of Torchwood was lost that night though. Jack and Gwen were able to stop the bleeding and Tosh survived. Ianto set Page on the couch and covered her with a blanket. When he came back several hours later, to do the final logout for Owen he found that Page was gone. Ianto walked up behind Jack, who was packing away Owen's things and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Did you seen Page to go get the stuff from his flat?"

Jack looked up and glanced back at Ianto. "No. Why?" He turned around to see that the blanket was left on the couch and it was empty. Jack had Owen's lab coat in his hands and he dropped it when he realized what Page was not there. "Check the CCTV footage," he said quickly. "Gwen, go make sure the SUV is still here." Gwen nodded and Ianto did as Jack told him. He watched Page get into the SUV and drive off. She had turned off the GPS locator on the SUV as well. They lost her. "Oh god…"

Ianto looked at Jack. "She's running again?" Jack shook his head, terror and worry filled his blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh god, don't do it Page."

"Jack…. What's she going to do?"

He looked over at Ianto and Gwen, who had just returned shaking her head. He sighed and looked up at the screen. She had left three hours ago. Jack breathed a sigh of relief though when he heard the door open. "Oh thank god, Page what were you-" He stopped when he turned around and saw that it was not Page that walked into the hub.

"Jack…" The voice was quiet, trembling, terrified but it was all Owen's. "Jack what happened? Not again Jack… please not again."

"I didn't do this." He walked up to Owen and pulled him into a hug. The man was broken. He had died. Owen was finally willing to accept death and he was torn from it. "I'm so sorry Owen." He sighed and looked up when Page came running back into the hub.

She stopped when she saw Jack and Owen and a smile formed on her face. "Owen." She watched with excitement as he turned around but her smile faded when she saw his face, the tears in his eyes. "Owen?"

The look of confusion and fear in Owen's eyes turned to anger. "What did you do?!" He approached her and grabbed her by her upper arms then slammed her into the wall behind her. "What did you do to me?! Why couldn't you leave me be?!"

Page struggled against Owen, tried to push him away but she couldn't. "I couldn't lose you. I had to."

"What did you do to me?!"

Finally Ianto pried Owen off of Page and struggled to hold him back. He looked back at Jack for some assistance. Jack was simply standing with his arms crossed over his chest, angry blue eyes fixed on Page. After a brief pause he took a step forward and placed a hand on Owen's shoulder, calming the man. He took a step in front of Owen and stared down at Page. "Jack… I had to… I had to."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "What's dead should stay dead remember. I want you gone. Now."

"What? Jack… I… I had to save him."

"NO! What you did was selfish! You did it for yourself because you're afraid to be alone!"

"Jack, you can't do this…" She looked from Jack to Owen, who was glaring at her. There was hatred in the man's dark eyes that she had never seen before. "Owen…"

She took a step forward and Owen took a step back. "Stay away from me. Why couldn't you let me die. I was READY!"

Jack took another step forward, and Page moved to hug the man but his arms remained crossed over his chest. "Goodbye Page."


	9. Crash and Burn

"_Goodbye Page._" Jack's voice reverberated within her mind. The anger in his blue eyes, the hatred in Owen's, left Page completely broken, shattered. She was without a home, without a job and without her friends. The people she had come to depend on. Two thousand years of independence destroyed by a single man. Page had wandered around Cardiff for hours before she was stopped. Someone came from behind her and took her hand. Page froze for a second before turning quickly to face Ianto. She stared, wondering why he was there. Did Jack send him? Page knew better than that though. Jack was angry with her, more so than he had ever been since she met him. This was not going to be solved so easily. She opened her mouth to speak, to apologize, to say something but no words came out. Ianto said nothing. He just wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

She sat next to Ianto on his couch. Tears streamed down her face. She was dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt that belonged to Ianto. Her wet, red hair fell in her face. She had not showered or changed clothes since the initial explosion. Page had been covered in dirt and blood until Ianto took her home. She was unable to get into Owen's flat, so Ianto gave her some of his clothes to wear. The shower did little to help her, though it did relax her a bit. He looked over at her, as she hugged her knees close to her chest. Her hands were still shaking and she sobbed quietly. After a moment Ianto moved closer to her, putting one arm around her and pulling her close, letting her rest her head against his chest. "Page… what happened?" Three hours of silent sobbing was broken by the sound of Ianto's soft voice. "Jack wouldn't say a word. Owen just fell apart. He has no idea what's going on. None of us do and we're worried about you, both of you."

She closed her eyes, letting the tears slide down her cheeks. "They're real. Jack won't admit to it. He'd say they're simply aliens that slipped through the rift, but they're not. They're real."

"What? They who?"

She slowly turned her head to look up at him, meeting those blue eyes that reminded her so much of Jack's. "Demons." She looked down again. "I… I couldn't let him die Ianto. I couldn't."

"Page, what did you do?"

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Gave up everything. Made a deal. Sold my soul. Call it what you want, I did what I had to Ianto." She sat up slowly with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't let him die. I heard him screaming. I closed my eyes and he was there. I couldn't let him die! It felt wrong, it wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to die. I couldn't let him stay dead Ianto. I couldn't lose him. I couldn't… not again."

"Shh," Ianto whispered, leaning forward and placing his finger over her lips to silence her. "I understand. I know what its like. You'd do anything to protect what you love. I've been there." The sadness in Ianto's eyes tore at Page's heart. She had heard, through the others, even through Ianto in passing, about Lisa but she did not know much. There was still so much about the team, about their lives that Page did not know. He cupped her face in his hands, much the same way Jack had done so many times before and looked into her broken sapphire eyes. "I would have given anything for her. I've been where you are Page."

"I couldn't let him die Ianto… I couldn't. He died and I couldn't breathe."

Ianto sighed and lowered his gaze for a moment. "You're going to die then? How long?"

"Two years." She heard Ianto sigh and looked up. "Ianto, I had to… I had to…"

"I know…" Ianto's gaze slowly rose to meet hers and the tears in her eyes. She slowly stopped sobbing for a moment, and simply stared at him. They both moved before either of them realized it. His lips crashed into hers, his body moved forward, pushing her down with her back against the couch. Heat, fire, between them brought on by a desperate need to feel something, anything. There was fire behind his kiss, a raw kind of passion Page knew had to come from being with Jack. Ianto seemed so reserved, so shy normally but now, he was far from either. Both were driven by pain and a desperate need to hide, to run away from it.

She could feel his heart pounding beneath his chest. A heartbeat. It had been so long since Page had felt any heartbeat but her own. So many nights she had fallen asleep in Owen's arms but he had no heartbeat, no pulse. Page closed her eyes, feeling Ianto's skilled hands tugging at her clothes, while her fingers pulled at his. His lips pressed hard against her own, his tongue sliding gently over her teeth. She felt his fingertips against her bare back and it sent chills down her spine. Ianto's hands were soft, smooth. They had not seen the fighting that Jack's or even Owen's had. It was slightly comforting to feel soft hands against her skin. Page clenched her fists around the red shirt he was wearing and pulled his body closer to hers, as his hands pulled the baggy t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. Her fingers made quick work of the buttons on his shirt, the tie long since gone and Ianto's lips traveled down her neck and over her collarbone as her head fell back.

She pulled the red shirt off his shoulder, throwing it onto the floor by her own. Contrary to what Page anticipated, Ianto was doing nothing to stop this. In fact if he was doing anything, it was encouraging her. Her hands slid down his back, nails digging into his skin and Page heard him take in a sharp breath as his lips graced her neck. His fingertips ran over her ribs, sending shivers through her body. Warm fingertips, she was so used to Owen's cold touch. Her breath caught in her throat as Ianto's lips moved down her neck, over her collarbone and dipped down her chest before moving back to her lips.

She left early that morning. Before Ianto even woke up. Page knew now that there was no way she could leave this team. Jack had made that impossible, made her care about them, all of them. Not just Owen, but Ianto, and Gwen and Tosh. She could not leave the team, and Jack need to know that. He needed to understand why she did what she did. Page was not about to let Jack get the final word. She found Jack in his office when she arrived at the Hub. It was long before anyone else had shown up. She knocked on the doorframe, even though Jack knew she was there. Page took a moment before walking into his office. "You have no place to judge me Jack Harkness."

He looked up from the papers on his desk, but said nothing. After a moment of staring at her, waiting for another response from her, he stood. Jack slowly walked around his desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "What you did was selfish Page. Owen was ready to die. You should have given that to him." He took a step forward, circling the girl, towering over her. "You're a hypocrite. Its all right for you to bring him back because you're afraid to be alone-"

"I'm not afraid! I've been alone for two thousand years Jack. Don't forget that. You think you've got it bad. Watching the people you love die, for a hundred years. Try a thousand, two thousand. You do not get to lecture me on loss Jack." She stood straight, confident, stood her ground. Page was not going to back down from this fight.

"You didn't do it for Owen, Page! You did it for yourself. Because you couldn't live with the fact that you fell for him! That's what life is Page! Loss!" He stopped in front of her and stared down at her blue eyes. "You have no idea what loss is Page. You said so yourself. You've been alone for two thousand years. Who the hell have you lost! How many people you loved have you watched die?! You don't know what love is."

Her hands shook. His words were like knives in her back. "At least I survived. You did this Jack! You brought me here! I would have been fine on my own, but you brought me here! You lied to me!" There was so much anger in her. She had been holding it in for months and now it was erupting. "You said that you'd protect me. You told me you'd take care of me! You lied to me. You brought me here and made me care about these people, about Owen! You said you would protect them! You let Owen die! Have you lied to everyone in your life Jack?! You said you'd protect me, you didn't. You said you'd protect the team, Owen… You didn't. You said you'd protect Gray. You didn't and now look what he's done! YOU DID THIS JACK HARKNESS! THIS IS ON-"

Her voice was stopped instantly as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the Hub. No one was around to hear. No one would know. Page stood, staring at Jack for a moment before she fell backwards to the ground, a bullet hole between her eyes. Jack stared down at the body. He knew she would come back, the same way he did. He knew, but that did not make him feel any better for it. Jack had never, deliberately been the cause of Page's death. He knelt next to her, holding her body and rocking back and forth for about ten minutes. It was still several hours before even Ianto would show up. Finally Jack took a deep breath. He was not finished yet. She needed to understand. To know what it was like to be dead. He picked up her body and carried her to the morgue. Jack knew he would regret this. Page would wake up in the freezer with no way out, locked in there. Jack had been buried alive for over a thousand years. Page had only been buried for two days. Jack on the other hand, he knew he would wake up. He knew he was not going to die, and eventually someone was going to find him. Every time Page woke up underground she had no idea why. It was her first death. She did not know she was Immortal and she did not know she would keep coming back. Every time she died down there she thought it was the last time and that left a permanent mark on Page. She was incredibly claustrophobic. This was Jack's punishment. Instead of taking her life, her memories, instead of firing her. She wanted to be a part of the team so badly, she was going to stay there.

The day wore on, everyone arrived for work. Ianto said nothing about Page staying with him, about that night. He felt no guilt, but he kept the details of their night to himself. It was no one else's business. Owen slid back into his job with ease and, for the first time in months he removed the bandage from his hand. His finger healed and only a scar remained on his palm. When he came back it had been chaotic. He had not even noticed until the morning what had truly happened. He was hungry, starving. He needed food, he was breathing, a pulse. The gunshot wound on his chest was nothing more than a scar now, a memory. Owen was human, Owen was alive. Jack said nothing about what happened between him and Page and no one asked. The day wore on and came to an end. Ianto was the last to leave. He went to say goodnight to Jack, but Jack did not want to talk to anyone. "What's wrong Jack?"

He slowly turned to face Ianto, catching the younger man's gaze. "How could she do that Ianto?"

He looked down and took a step towards Jack, placing his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Because she loves him." Ianto took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. "If Owen knew, if they're places were switched Jack… you know he would have done the same thing." Part of Ianto knew, that he was risking a lot just by saying this, but it needed to be said. "What would you give to save Gray? That's what she gave for Owen." If I knew with…" his voice trailed away and he looked down, letting his hand fall to his side.

Ianto looked to his hand when he felt Jack take it, lacing their fingers together. "He was ready to die Ianto and we were all ready to let him go."

"That's not true. Tosh wasn't. Gwen wasn't." Ianto took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them. "I wasn't. She did what she thought was right, what she thought was best. She was guided by her heart not her mind Jack." Ianto gave Jack's hand a comforting squeeze before he let go and left the Hub. He hoped to find Page when he got home, but she was not there. He assumed she left. Life went on. One week since Owen returned, since disaster struck Cardiff. They were still picking up the pieces. Owen was finishing an autopsy on a small alien creature. It was mostly harmless, vaguely resembling a large guinea pig. It slipped through the rift and was killed in one of the explosions. One week before anyone found Page. No one bothered to look. Owen died before and she left. Why would this time be any different.


	10. Hell's Bells

"Owen, what do we have?" Jack walked into the autopsy room just as Owen finished the autopsy. He was followed by Gwen, Ianto, and a bandaged up Toshiko.

"Well… it's a giant guinea pig."

"That's it… No… that's it?" Owen nodded and Jack rolled his eyes. "What killed it?"

"Piece of shrapnel from the explosion, when through the skull and scrambled up the brain." Jack, along with the rest of the team sighed and went back to work. It had been a quiet week. A good thing considering the clean up that was ahead of Cardiff. Owen sent the body down to the morgue when he noticed something odd. One of the units was in use that was not in record. For a moment he thought it was the one Jack put Gray in, but Jack recorded that. He made sure he recorded that so no one would accidentally let Jack out. "What the…?" Owen made his way down to the morgue and opened the drawer that was in use. There was no body bag, nothing covering the body and Owen jumped back when he saw it. Lying there, shaking, covered in clothes soaked with blood. "Zeppie?" He leaned over her, brushing her hair out of her face. "Page."

She lashed out, fighting against him, trying to get away. Her nails scratched his face before Owen was able to grab her hands. "PAGE!" His voice shook her and she stared at him. She was lost. Owen could see it. Page had no idea where she was, what was happening. For a moment Owen was thinking Retcon. He knew better though. Owen knew how claustrophobic Page was. "Look at me. Its me… Its Owen." Her hands shook and she wimpered softly. "Its okay." Owen looked up for a moment. "JACK!!" As soon as he said Jack's name, Page started struggling again, screaming to let her go. She was terrified and Owen could see it in her eyes. He had never seen fear like this in her eyes before. "Shh," he whispered holding her body close to him.

He knew why she was scared. There was only one explanation. Jack. Fucking. Harkness. He picked Page up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest, and carried her out of the morgue. "Jack!"

"Oh my god, Owen, where did you…" Tosh ran over to Owen as he set Page down on the couch.

Ianto stood a few feet away and stared down at Page. His gaze slowly turned to Jack. "Where was she?"

Owen stood and faced Jack. He took several deep breaths, anything to keep from hitting the man. Jack had done some things in the past but this made Owen more angry than any of them. He took a few steps over to Jack as Ianto knelt down next to Page, taking her hand. "What'd you do to her Jack? WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"Oh my god." Owen turned towards Tosh who was standing in front of the screen, going through the CCTV footage. "Jack… But how…" She looked back at Page, then over at Jack. "He shot her… Jack you shot her!"

"You shot her then you put her in the morgue!" Owen was furious. "Jack! You knew she'd come back! What were thinking?!"

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down. "I'm sorry." He slowly looked back up, his eyes focusing on the frightened redhead on the couch and the look of betrayal in Ianto's eyes.

"Sorry! You're sorry… fat lot of good that does Jack! Look at her!"

Jack pushed himself from the dooframe he was leaning against and walked over to Page. Ianto stood and took a step back as Jack knelt down next to the girl. She inched away from him, covering her face and curling up in a ball. Jack had no idea what this would do to her. He let his temper get out of control and now he was terrified that he had caused permanent damage to Page. He brushed her hair out of her face and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Zep, I am so sorry." He sat down on the couch and picked her up, hugging her close to him. Jack looked up at the rest of the team. Tosh and Gwen were staring, amazed that Page was even alive. Ianto simply looked lost, and Owen was furious. "She can't die. Well, she can… she will… I don't know how long though."

"Two years," Ianto answered quietly, looking down at his feet. "She has two years."

"What do you mean two years? She has two years until what?" Owen looked back and forth, between Jack and Ianto, his dark eyes darting between the two searching for answers.

"Don't worry about it right now Owen." Jack sighed and held Page close to him. He kissed her forehead once more and motioned for Owen to come over. Owen listened. "Take her home, get her cleaned up. Make sure she's all right. Please."

Owen nodded and took Page from Jack's hands. He carried her out of the hub, and to his car before they headed back to his flat. Page sat in the car, hugging her knees to her chest, staring out the window. "Say something… please."

It was silent until Owen finally parked the car. "I'm sorry. I should have let you die."

Owen turned her to face him, holding her face in his hands. "There's nothing you can do about it now." After a moment he smiled slowly. "Page…" He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "I'm not dead." Owen took her inside and led her into his bedroom. All her belongings were still there. Page looked around, trying to calm herself. She could still feel the walls around her though. She took a breath and could not breathe. Air tight, no air. She lost track of how many time she died. Tiny space, closing in, crushing her. She felt pressure on her shoulders and screamed pushing it away, only to realize it was Owen. She turned to face him, fear seeping through her blue eyes. "Owen?"

He took a step towards her cautiously, doing his best not to frighten her. Owen watched as she seemed to come out of a daze. "I'm right here."

She stared at him, watching his chest rise and fall with deep breaths. Breaths. Breathing, color. There was life inside Owen. "You're…" She reached out and Owen took another step forward, letting her hand rest on his heart. "You're alive." He smiled at her and nodded. "You're…" She closed her eyes, feeling his heart beat beneath her palm. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around. "You're alive Owen." She never thought she would feel his heart beat again. She pulled his t-shirt over his head, just to see for sure. Page ran her fingertips over what was left of the gunshot wound that killed him, nothing but a scar. He was warm, his skin was warm. Owen placed two fingers under her chin and raised her head to look up at him. She ran her fingertips over the scratches on his face from her nails. Scratches that had already begun to heal.

He was alive, he had his life back, and everything that went along with it, and he was more than eager to get back to normal life. Owen had Page undressed and in the bed before even Page knew what was happening. Owen was more aggressive than Ianto, much more so, and at time he was more aggressive than Jack. He spent months observing her. Teasing her. At the time Page thought nothing of it. He would never be able to use it. He was alive now, everything was different, and Owen knew every weakness Page had. He knew each and every little way to make her squirm, to make her scream and he was exploiting that knowledge. His fingertips were warm against her skin as they slid over her ribs and behind her back. There was more heat between them than anyone. Beads of sweat covered her body. Owen used every bit of knowledge about her that he had gained over the months to his advantage. At least he did until his phone rang. "Fuck," he muttered, letting his head rest in the crook of Page's neck, heart pounding beneath his chest. Both of them were breathing heavily. He ignored it though, only for it to ring again.

"You gonna get that?"

"No." Both of them knew who it was. Neither of them particularly wanted to talk to him right now.

The phone rang again and Page gently pushed Owen off of her and reached over to get the phone. "Then I will." She answered the phone with a sigh. "Jack… you're kind interrupting something…" she told him, while panting slightly. There was a smirk on her face when she glanced over to Owen that disappeared in a second. "What? What do you mean he…. What did he look like?… Oh god… Ianto." Page dropped the phone.

"Jack? Jack what's going on?" It was too late, Jack hung up the phone. Owen looked at Page, putting his arms around her in an attempt to get her attention. "Page…"

"Ianto's been taken… its my fault." She looked up at him and got out of bed quickly, pulling on the nearest clothes she could find. "We have to go."

Owen nodded quickly and got dressed. They were out the door in less than two minutes. By the time they got back to the hub, Tosh and Gwen were already there. Page pushed past them, rushing into Jack's off. "Show me the video."

Jack nodded they sat down in the conference room. Jack played the security footage outside the hub, where Ianto was taken. Page's heart stopped dead. "Oh god, no." Her hands trembled as she looked at Jack. "I just… Why…" Page paused for a moment as the thought struck her. "Oh god… I… I didn't even notice it." She looked around the room and stood. Now was a time for explanations. Page took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment and centered herself. "I'm an Immortal. We can't die, save severing our head." She took a deep breath and looked down at Owen. "We can only become this way through a violent or unnatural death. You have to be… destined, for it. I was killed in 164 B.C." Everyone seemed astonished by her age, even Owen. She had never mentioned her age to him. "Immortals, we can… we can sense when others like us are nearby. The other night… after," her voice trailed off and she looked away from Owen. "Ianto let me stay with him. While we walked back to his place I felt it, but… I didn't think anything of it."

Page sighed and looked up at the screen that was paused, showing the face of the man, who looked no older than Owen or Gwen, that kidnapped Ianto. "His name is Caelan Egan. He's a killer. Cold, heartless." She looked down and bit her lip. "This is my fault. I… I've gotten in several fights with him over the centuries. None of them ended well. People got hurt. He's had it out for me for years. He umm… He must have seen me with Ianto…" Her gaze slowly rose until she met Jack's and a single tear fell from her eyes. "Jack, I am so sorry. I swear to you I'll get him back. I promise. I will get him back."

Jack nodded and the team stood. "Any idea where he might be."

She slowly shook her head and glanced back at the screen. "He'll contact me." She looked over at Jack. "I'm sorry… I… This is my fault. Ianto doesn't deserve this."

"Shh," Jack whispered as he walked up to Page and wrapped his arms around her. "Ianto's strong. He's resilient. He'll be okay. He's Torchwood." Jack flashed Page a smile that did very little to calm her nerves. "Until we hear from this Caelan guy we have no choice but to get back to work."

"He won't kill Ianto, Jack." Jack turned back to Page and looked puzzled. "He won't kill Ianto until I'm there to see it." She took a deep breath and looked down. As Jack walked out of the room, Page looked back up at him. "I'm going alone Jack. You can't fight this battle. This is my fight. We have rules Jack and you know it."

Jack turned and glared at her. "Since when do I follow the rules?"


	11. Only the Good Die Young

Ten days. Ten agonizingly long days since Ianto was taken. No one was concentrating. Page spent half the time blaming herself. The team searched through anything they could find to track this guy down, but Egan left no trail. Jack was coming unraveled. Everyone was on edge. Page tried her best to reassure Jack that Ianto would be alive when the find him. Half the time she was trying to convince herself. Egan was doing this to torture Page. She knew, at least she thought, he would keep Ianto alive until Page was there to watch him die. She could not help but thinks he was wrong though. Even if she was right, Page knew that Ianto was in pain. Egan thrived on pain, on screams. Sometimes, Page swore she could hear Ianto screaming in her mind.

She sat on the edge of Jack's desk. It had been silent in the room for almost an hour. Page said nothing, she just sat there, looking down at Jack. "Jack, I…" He looked up at her. Her lifeline, her rock. The whole of Torchwood 3 depended on Jack far more than they probably should, and Page was no different. She felt his hand on top of hers. Jack's eyes met hers and she saw tears in his eyes. The moment was interrupted when her cell phone rang. Page pulled it out of the pocket of her dark blue jeans and looked at the display screen. "Ianto." Her eyes met Jack's as she answered the phone. "Ianto?"

"Hello Tara." The voice on the other end did not belong to the quiet Welshman. Instead she heard the thick Irish accent that belonged to Caelan. Tara. It had been centuries, four and a half centuries, since she had been called Tara.

"Is he all right?"

There was a cold laughter on the other end. "Oh, Tara, love… I thought you knew me better than that. Tell me, Tara, oh, sorry its Page now, is it? Forgive me if I don't call you that. Do you miss me?" She said nothing, looking down at Jack as tears welled in his eyes. "I didn't come here looking for you, but imagine my surprise when I saw you here, and with the lovely young man too. He's quite the screamer, Tara…" There was silence for a moment, but suddenly Page heard Ianto scream in the background.

"IANTO!"

"God, I love hearing you scream Tara." Caelan laughed once more, a sadistic laughter that had haunted Page for centuries. "Answer the question Tara. Do you miss me?" She was silent for a moment, bit her bottom lip and jumped when she heard Ianto scream again. "Answer me Tara."

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Say it, Tara…" In the background she could hear pain filled screams from Ianto. "Say it, baby."

"I miss you."

"Good. So listen, I'm sure by now your little friends have figured out where this call is coming from. You've got an hour." There was a pause and when Page heard Caelan's voice again it was distant. "Say goodbye to the girl."

"Page?" The voice was frantic, terrified. "Page he'll kill-" but it was cut off by a scream.

"Romeo says goodbye." With that the call ended.

Page set the phone down on Jack's desk and looked down at him. "I'll get him back. I'll bring him back to you Jack, I promise."

She walked out of Jack's office and over to Tosh, who had coordinates for where the phone call had come from. Page took a deep breath and looked over at Jack.

"I'm going with you."

"No Jack. Even if you're there, there's nothing you can do. You can't interfere." She grabbed two of the knives she carried when she first met the team and attached them to her belt before putting on her black leather jacket. "I'll bring him back. I promise you."

"Page, you're not going alone." This time it was Tosh that opposed. Page looked around and saw Gwen, Tosh, Jack, and Owen standing around her, ready to fight.

"You don't understand. You can't go."

"You should know by now, we're not scared away by danger."

Page sighed and shook her head, looking over at Gwen. "Its not that its necessarily dangerous. Its that you can not go. You cannot be involved in this. It is my fight. We have rules. You can't get involved."

"So you fight, while we go get Ianto," Gwen said simply. "You can't do this alone Page.

She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Owen for a moment. "I have to. This is my fight, and Ianto will be wherever Caelan is. You won't be able to get to him. He's keeping Ianto with him, so I can watch when he dies. I have to do this alone." Page looked to each member of the team. "You have to stay here. I will bring him back to you all I promise."

"Be careful."

Page looked at Gwen and nodded, giving the woman a hug before she gave Tosh a hug as well. She looked at Tosh and leaned over. "Don't let Owen follow me." Tosh nodded and Page turned to Owen. "I'm taking your car." With that Page left. She rushed out of the hub and hopped into Owen's car. Her heart pounded beneath her chest, the only thing that kept her focused was the thought that Ianto was still alive.

She pulled up to an old elementary school. The place had been abandoned for thirty-plus years. As if the situation could not become any more cliché, Page found Caelan in the basement. Ianto was on his knees next to Caelan, his hands were tied behind his back. Large cuts and bruises littered his body. The suit jacket he had been wearing before was gone, abandoned long ago, but he still had the tie around his neck. Page was unsure if his shirt was always red, or if it used to be white. Ianto was pale, there was a desperate look in his eyes. He was in pain, Page could see that, barely able to stay conscious.

"Hello Tara."

Page took a step forward, into the light. She knew well there was a possibility she would not walk away from this fight. She had Ianto to think of though, and she knew she could not let him down. "You okay Ianto?" The man did not answer, but he finally lost his battle with consciousness and fell to the ground. "Okay… Good answer."

"Your jokes and your words can not save him, Tara." He stepped forward and smirked, looking the girl over. She tried to pretend the way he looked at her had no effect, but Caelan knew better. "I like your hair Tara, shorter. You look good with short hair." He closed the gap between each other and he ran a hand through her short hair. Caelan circled her, stopping behind her for a moment and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body back against his. He took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Page's hair. He ran his tongue over her neck, and Page tried to fight the shivers it sent down her spine. "Did you miss me Tara?" He nipped at her ear, and smiled as his fingers teased her, slipping just slightly beneath the waistline of her jeans. She sucked in her stomach to get away from his touch but it was no use. "I like this look on you, though, I would prefer you in something a little more… appropriate."

"Let Ianto go," she whispered trying to keep her voice strong. Page's history with Caelan Egan was far from conventional. He brought out the worst in her and it was a relationship Page was never proud of. Yet, every time he walked into her life, she could not kill him. It was not that she lacked the skill or the ability, she had that, but she could not bring herself to kill him.

"And what do I get?" He smirked, letting his lips touch her neck as his hand dipped lower. Page took in a sharp, and no matter how hard she fought it she could not help but lean back against him. "Why should I let him go, Tara?" He love the way she shivered when he touched her.

"What do you want Caelan?" Page shivered and bit her bottom lip as his hand continued to slide lower. Page locked eyes with Ianto, who was barely conscious.

He smiled and pulled her back against him, letting his other hand slip under her shirt and over her ribs. "The same thing you want Tara," he whispered in her ear. Caelan spun her around to face him and pushed her body up against a column holding the up the first floor. "Why are you fighting it so much Tara," he whispered in her ear. He noticed her gaze turn to Ianto and grabbed her jaw in his hand, forcing her to look at me. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, lover." He pressed his lips against hers, taking her bottom lip between his teeth.

Page turned her eyes to look over at Ianto, who was floating in and out of consciousness. She took a deep breath and pushed Caelan away, bringing her feet up and pounding them into his chest. The blow sent him back a few feet. It gave Page just enough time to pull out the blades she had on each hip. "I am not, nor will I ever be your lover Caelan." The two circled each other a couple times before Caelan struck. He swung his sword around, cutting deep into Page's torso. She ignored it and kept fighting. Every swing from his sword she tried to block, and most of the time she succeeded. Another swing cut across her right shoulder and Page winced, but kept fighting. Ianto's life was on the line and she was not going to let him down, let Jack down, let the team down. He swung over his head and Page blocked the sword by crossing the blades together above her head.

A heeled boot shoot out and collided with his stomach, sending him to his knees. Page crossed her knives at his neck and looked down at him. She took several slow deep breaths. "You can't kill me Tara…" He looked up at her with soft blue eyes. "Mé grá tusa."

His words were soft, like a whisper and melodic. All Page heard was poison though. She brought the blades together, severing Caelan's head from his body. "Liar." As the body dropped to the ground, Page fell to her knees, preparing herself for the Quickening. She heard the lightening, felt the static and closed her eyes. But there was nothing. When Page opened her eyes she realized that something cause the Quickening to be diverted. Ianto lay on the floor, writhing, screaming. Page stood and stared in awe, as he received the Quickening meant for her. "IANTO!" When it was over Page rushed to his side. He was not Immortal, this should not have happened. Page cradled his almost lifeless body in her arms, rocking back and forth for a few agonizing minutes. She was sure he was dead. No mortal could have survived that, let alone a mortal in Ianto's condition. Page closed her eyes and cried quietly, holding Ianto's body close to hers, ignoring the large slash across her midriff. It was healing anyway.

"Whoa… head rush."

Page looked down to see that Ianto was, not only alive, but conscious. "Ianto." She smiled and hugged him close to her, only to hear him take in a sharp breath. "Are you all right?"

"What the hell was that?"

Page sighed and looked down at the young man's blue eyes. "The Quickening. It… it shouldn't have happened to you. I don't understand… This has never happened before and I… are you all right? You're not hurt are you? Is anything-"

Ianto placed a finger over her lips to silence her. "I knew you'd come for me…" He smiled up at her, a slight glimmer in his eyes that Page could not explain. Ianto placed his hand behind her head and leaned forward, pulling her head down to kiss her deeply. For a brief moment Page felt his teeth pull at her lower lip but it was fleeting and she thought maybe she was just imagining things. "Thank you." She nodded slowly, baffled by his actions. Page helped him up and to Owen's car, then took him back to the Hub. "Are you sure you're all right?" She took a deep breath and glanced over at him as she drove. "It might have been the Rift that caused this…" There was silence as Ianto stared out the window. "Ianto…"

He looked over at her and nodded slowly then turned his head back out the window. He glanced at the reflection, noticing Page focusing on the road, and a dark smirk formed on his lips. He turned his head to face Page and sighed. "You were enjoying it…"

"Excuse me?"

"I could see it, when he touched you. You liked it."

"Just drop it Ianto." Page took a deep breathe trying to calm herself and Ianto fell silent once more. The possibilities ran through her brain. What might this have done to Ianto? A Quickening, a mortal receiving a Quickening. It was unheard of, and the more unsettling thing was that kiss. It sent chills down her spine, and not in a good way. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Page dialed Gwen's cell phone, it came first on her contact list. When Gwen picked up, Page could hear the worry in her voice. "Let me talk to Jack," Page said as calmly as she could. The ever comforting sound of Jack Harkness' voice came through the other line. "Jack… I've got him…" she glanced over at Ianto, who seemed to be sleeping and smiled fondly. "He's all right."


	12. Born Under A Bad Sign

Page helped Ianto back into the hub, his arm rested over her shoulder and hers around his waist. As they walked in, they were met by Tosh, who had an incredibly concerned look on her face. Page glanced around her and saw Owen, sitting in his chair, his wrists tied to the arms of the chair. "He tried to follow you," Tosh answered simply.

"Thanks Tosh." The thank you did not come from Page though, it came from Ianto. Tosh, Gwen and Owen looked at the two of them.

Jack made his way through the group to wrap his arms around Ianto. He lifted Ianto's chin and pressed his lips to the younger man's. Page glanced down for a moment, sadness in her eyes. "There was a spike in rift activity where you were Page. Did something happen?"

"Did something happen?" Again, it was Ianto that responded, and Page remained quiet. "Did something happen?" He looked at Jack and rolled his eyes.

"Jack." Page's voice was soft, quiet, very unlike Page's.

"Umm… Tosh?" Tosh turned back to Owen and jumped, remembering he was tied to the chair. She rushed over and untied his wrists. Owen stood and looked over at Page and Ianto.

Jack looked down at Page, confusion in his eyes. "Jack…"

"Page…"

"Not quite." This time Ianto's voice answered. "Hi…" He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Fuck. How do you walk with…. Gah." Ianto, or… Page, squirmed and rolled her shoulders. "I need coffee." He stalked off towards the coffee maker and Jack looked down at "Page".

"Ianto?" The redhead nodded. Jack looked her up and down, trying to fight the smile on his face. "You… you switched bodies?"

"No, I've always had these Jack." Ianto replied, pulling up Page's shirt and flashing the entirety of the team. Owen smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"The Rift spike?"

"I just decided to hijack Page's body and take it for a test drive…" She looked down.

"How do you work this fucking thing!" The yell held Ianto's voice, but Page's impatience as he… she? Kicked the counter with a loud groan.

Jack looked back and forth between the two of them. Then he grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her up close to him. "You. My office. Five minutes." With that Jack let go and walked back into his office. As soon as he was inside and the door closed Page and Ianto burst out laughing.

"That was brilliant Page." He walked up to the redhead and smiled.

She laughed and caught Ianto as his legs gave out. "Easy." She helped him sit down on the couch, sitting down next to him. "Owen," she whispered, calling the doctor over.

"You two didn't…" Owen knelt in front of Ianto, looking over his wounds. He had burn marks littering his torso, electrical burns. Page shook her head in answer to Owen's question.

"The Rift spike? Did something happen?" The concern and worry in Tosh's voice was evident, and she had every right to be concerned.

Page nodded. "The Quickening… when… when I killed Caelan." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "It must have, must have been at the same time… Something like this has never happened before." She glanced over at Ianto. "It went to him. I… I don't think there were any adverse effects from it though. He seems to be all right."

Ianto stood slowly, against Owen's wishes. He made his way into Jack's office. Page stood in front of him for a moment. "Ianto, are you all right?" He smiled and gave Page a kiss on the forehead. She sighed and let him walk passed. As he did Page felt his hand smack against her backside. "Whoa, tiger," she said with a smirk. Owen stood, to stop him but Page placed a hand on Owen's chest. "Leave them." She looked up at Owen and smiled. "Tosh had to tie you up?" She glanced over at Tosh and smirked. "Kinda kinky Tosh." The four of them sighed, relaxed a little. It was a comfort to have Ianto back. Jack let the team go home which they eagerly took the offer. It was a general consensus to let Jack and Ianto have some privacy.

Owen and Page returned home, she looked over at the young doctor and smiled. "You could have gotten yourself killed Page."

"But I didn't."

"But you could have. You willingly walked into a situation where-"

"Owen!" She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You don't get to lecture me on putting my life in danger. You died trying to play hero. I'm not arguing about this. Go to bed."

"Do you even realize what could have happened? You get shot, you come back, you get stabbed, you come back. You get your head cut off and you're gone Page! Gone, not coming back. You don't revive from that!"

She sighed and shook her head. "I told you Owen, I am not arguing about this. Would you rather me have stayed and let Ianto die? Do you think going out there was easy for me? Do you think seeing him again after four centuries was easy?! I was terrified! Fucking terrified Owen, but I had to." She turned to face Owen slowly and took a deep breath. "Owen, please. I don't want to argue about this. Please, just go to bed." Owen sighed and walked into his room. Page flinched when she heard the door slam. The redheaded Immortal sat down on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. As horrible as he was, at some point in Page's life she had loved Caelan Egan. Taking his life, and not receiving the Quickening, not having that part of Caelan within her was devastating. Three hours passed and Page could not sleep. Something felt off, not quite right and she could not place it. She was still concerned for Ianto, since he received the Quickening. As soon as she thought about it, everything rushed at her at once. Ianto's kiss, the faint feel of his teeth on her lip. "_You were enjoying it… When he touched you, you liked it._" As Ianto walked into Jack's office, the slap of his hand on her backside. Page stood up quickly. "Oh god. Jack." She rushed towards Owen's room, but found that the door was locked. Page pounded on the door frantically, the way she had when Owen got sealed into the power plant. "OWEN! OWEN!"

After a few minutes, Owen opened the door. "What? Page, its two in the morning."

"Get dressed… we have to go." Owen studied her, wondering what was wrong. "OWEN!" He jumped and nodded, pulling his pants on quickly and grabbing a t-shirt before they rushed out of his flat.

"Page, what's going on?"

"Its wrong, its all wrong. How could you not see it?!" She shook her head and looked down. "Oh god, if something happens to Jack."

**Three hours earlier - HUB**:

Ianto walked into Jack's office and closed the door. "Page what are you-"

Jack's voice was stopped suddenly by Ianto's lips on his. Ianto leaned back and smiled at Jack. "Figured we'd lighten the mood when we got back. Help you guys relax a little." He smiled and sat on the edge of Jack's desk. "We didn't switch bodies Jack." He looked down at the floor in silence for a few moments before his eyes rose to meet Jack's once more. "You were worried?"

"Of course I was worried Ianto. We all were. I think you're underestimating what-" Jack's words were cut off once more as Ianto pressed his lips to Jack's. For a brief second Jack fought against it, mostly just out of surprise. It was only fleeting though and after a moment of hesitation he leaned into the kiss, cupping Ianto's face in his hands. Ianto's fingers laced in Jack's hair, he tugged at Jack's bottom lip with his teeth. Both men stood at the same time, neither dared to break the kiss. Something seemed off though, different. Jack finally tore his lips from Ianto's and looked down at the young man's blue eyes. Something was wrong. There was fire in the kiss but it was more like hellfire than a passionate kind of fire. "Ianto?" The younger man looked down and Jack wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. He had no idea what Ianto had gone through in those ten days. Ten agonizing days. Jack thought he had lost Ianto forever, and it was one of the scariest weeks of Jack's life.

The movement was fast, almost unnoticeable. Ianto spun Jack around and slammed him face first into the wall, pressing his body against Jack's. "Ianto…" Something was wrong. Sure, Ianto had his moments with Jack when he liked to take control, but they were rare, and never life this.

Ianto held Jack's arm behind his back and grabbed his hair in his fist, pulling his head back. "You were worried? Were you really? Or were you just worried Owen would have to make the coffee again? Enough with the lies Jack."

"Ianto… what's going on. This isn't you." There was concern, fear in Jack's voice. Ianto had a heart, too much of a heart at times and Jack feared he would do something he'd regret down the road.

"Jack… this is me. You still think you know everything about me, but you know nothing!" Ianto pulled Jack's gun out of the holster and positioned it against the side of Jack's head. "I'm through with your games Harkness. Done with your lies." He took a step back and pulled the trigger, sending Jack to the ground. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

Jack took in a sharp breath as he revived. He opened his eyes and found that he was in the autopsy room, strapped down to a chair. "Ianto? IANTO?"

He looked around and saw Ianto standing at the top of the stairs but he was not alone. "Morning, sir." The smile on Ianto's face made Jack's stomach turn, the man standing next to him, hands bound behind his back and blood trickling down his face from a cut on his forehead, filled Jack with anger.

"Ianto… let him go." Jack struggled against the straps that held him in place.

"Say please, Jack." He pushed the man down the stairs, following behind him. "Oh come on Jack. Here's your chance the be the hero you never were." The sound of metal on bone resounded in the room as the butt of the gun in Ianto's hand slammed into his prisoner's face. "Say please Jack!"

Jack looked to the man on his knees, then back up at Ianto. "What happened to you? Whatever happened we can fix it. We can help you Ianto."

"You're not listening Jack. Nothing is wrong with me. I've let you get off too easily Jack. Not anymore." Ianto cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the young man's leg, but was far from fatal. He elicited a loud scream from the man though. "Say. Please."

Jack flinched when he heard the scream and struggled against the straps once more, to no avail. He looked from Ianto to the man on the floor. "Please… Please, Ianto. Let him go." He bit back the tears in his eyes. "Please, let Gray go. Put him back!"

"Is this all you got?" Gray's laugh echoed in the room. "This is nothing."

Ianto paused and looked down at Jack's little brother. The man he pulled out of the freezer, the man he woke up for one sole purpose. "Shut up. This has nothing to do with you." His icy blue gaze turned to Jack and his lips curled into a sadistic smile. "Not good enough Jack." Ianto grabbed the top of Gray's head, clenched his hair in his fist and pulled his head back. "It'll never be good enough. Payback's a bitch." Before Jack could protest Ianto pulled out a knife and slid it cleanly across Gray's throat.

"NO!!" Jack's scream echoed through the hub as he watched his baby brother bleed to death. He struggled in vain, screaming until his voice gave out. Gray's blood covered Ianto's hands as he strode over to Jack, kneeling in front of the man, the leader.

He placed a hand on Jack's face and smiled before pressing his lips hard against Jack's. For the first time, Jack fought against the kiss, he struggled to get away from Ianto, but it was no use. When he finally did break the kiss he locked eyes with Jack, running a bloody finger over Jack's lips. "Baby, I'm just getting started."


	13. Born Under A Bad Sign II

"We should split up. Go check outside, make sure Ianto didn't take him anywhere. Get back down here as soon as you can and check the Weevil cages." Page opened the door and started to walk in when Owen grabbed her arm.

"I don't think this is a good idea. I've seen enough horror movies, splitting up is a bad idea."

Page sighed and pulled her arm from Owen's grasp. "Owen, trust me. I'll be all right. Now go!" Owen sighed and nodded, before he walking in the opposite direction, as Page entered the hub. "Jack?!" There was no answer. Something was horribly wrong, she could feel it in her gut. Page searched Jack's office. She saw blood on the floor and her heart jumped. Jack's blood. It had to be. Page was only slightly reassured by the fact that Jack could not actually die. She rushed out of his office and followed the small trail of blood. She followed it, as best she could until she got to the autopsy room. Page stood in the doorway, afraid to enter for a moment. She took several deep breaths and stepped forward, toward the railing. First she saw a body slumped on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding it. Page recognized it immediately. She screamed and ran down the steps, slipping in the blood and falling to her knees by his body. His throat had been slit. Gray, Jack's little brother.

Blood covered Page's hands and her clothes. She turned around to see Jack strapped to a chair, his throat slit as well. Though Page knew that Jack would come back, she could not stop the scream that escaped from her throat. She struggled to her feet, slipping in the still wet blood and made her way over to Jack. "Jack… Jack…" Almost as if in response to her calling, Jack revived, with a shout. She tried her best to get the blood off his face, but her hands were covered in blood and it was no use. "Jack?" The man said nothing. He simply stared at the body on the ground across the room. The blood on his face, washed away by tears that streaked from his eyes. "Jack?" Page pulled him close to her, holding him for a moment as he cried. Every other time. Jack held them together. When it came down to it, Jack was always the one holding you while you cried. Page knew that and for once she was being that for Jack. After a moment she let go and began to remove the straps holding Jack's wrists in place.

She was stopped suddenly by a fist in her hair, jerking her head back. Page, yelled and looked up at the man that held her. Ianto Jones. The soft blue eyes he once had were gone, replaced with cold, heartless ice blue eyes. "Ianto, we can.."

"I know, you can help me. I keep hearing that, but Page… there's nothing wrong with me." He pulled the girl to her feet. Ianto grabbed her left wrist tightly with his right hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her body against his forcefully. "There's nothing wrong with me Page," he whispered darkly in her ear. Ianto took a moment to savor the way she smelled, the feel of her body so close to his. "Everywhere a reminder of everything I've lost. Because of him," he shouted, pointing to Jack. Jack moved from the chair he was strapped to, only to kneel on the blood covered floor, holding his brother in his arms. "Not anymore. I've been silent, but not anymore. All of you… you let him come in and ruin your lives. You don't ask questions because he tells you its all right. He tells you not to ask so you blindly follow him. I'm through. Don't you see, Page. I'm doing this for all of you." He pressed his lips to hers, holding her close to him, even as she struggled. Ianto reached behind Page and pulled out her gun. Then he raised it and fired, shooting Jack in the head once again. "Can't have him interrupting us."

"JACK!" Page struggled against Ianto's grip on her upper arm as he dragged her out of the autopsy room.

He pulled her down to the cells, throwing her in an empty one. Ianto smiled devilishly at her, as he pushed her up against the wall. "Was I not good enough Page?" She struggled and Ianto took her wrists and pinned them against the wall, holding her body still with the weight of his own. "You had to go running back to him, back to Owen's bed. That ungrateful bastard, wouldn't know a good thing if it bit him in the arse." Ianto ran his lips lightly over her neck. "Was I not forceful enough?" Ianto nipped at her neck, a smile on his face. "I didn't want to scare you. You should see what I'm capable of Page."

"Ianto please…"

He smiled, letting his hands slide down her arms and over her sides. He slipped them under her shirt slowly and over her ribs. "I didn't realize it would be so easy to make you beg." He could feel her shivering, hear the skip in her heartbeat as his fingertips touched her heated skin. Ianto kissed her lightly and smirked. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. From what Jack's told me, its not to hard to get between your legs." Before she could even respond Ianto took the small knife he had used to slit Gray and Jack's throat earlier and thrust it up under her ribs at an angle, just enough to hit her heart. He smiled as he watched her struggle to breathe and the color fade from her skin. As blood began to pool in her mouth, and slowly drip from the corners where her lips came together, he twisted the knife. The last thing Page felt before the darkness took her was Ianto's tongue running across her blood stained lips.

**Five months earlier - Owen's flat:**

"I'm dead Page! Broken! I don't work!" He sat down on the couch next to her with a loud sigh. "I'm not like you. I don't have a pulse, I don't have breath. I'm dead!"

Page sighed and shook her head. "Owen, stop thinking about it like that." Her voice was simple, very matter-of-fact. She turned to face him, curling one leg under the other.

"How else am I supposed to think about it Page? That's never going to change. The things I'm never going to be able to do again."

"You're not dead Owen…" She smirked when he opened his mouth to correct her. She place her index finger over his lips to silence him, the way Ianto did with her when she would ramble. "You're electroencephalographically challenged." Owen stared at her for a moment and saw him fighting the smile on his lips. He failed miserably and started laughing. She liked to see Owen laugh, to see him smile, really smile. It was a rare moment to see a genuine smile on Owen Harper's face, even more so since he was shot.

**One point five months ago - Gwen and Rhys' wedding:**

_"She was a fast machine, she kept the motor clean, she was the best damn woman that I ever seen…"_ The sound of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" echoed through the reception hall. Everyone was asleep save for seven people. It started with just Page out there dancing. Seconds after the intro started she felt hands on her hips, and leaned back against whoever was behind her. It turned out, off all people it was Ianto Jones. She smiled, swaying her hips with the beat and she let one hand reach behind her, and wrap around Ianto's neck, fingers lacing in his dark hair. Then she opened her eyes when she felt a second set of hands on her hips. The second set slid up her sides and over her arms, pulling them away from Ianto. Jack. She smiled and before long the entire team was there. Even Owen. Page shot a glance over to him and smiled. She looked around at everyone there and for the first time in a long time she felt like she belonged somewhere. Stuck between Ianto and Jack with Owen to her right and Tosh on her left. She felt like she belonged, like she was wanted. This was her place, her home, her destiny.

**Six months earlier - Hub**:

"What have we been doing for the last two days?" Everyone sighed, no one knew what had happened. They did not remember a thing.

"Well, that's forty-eight hours of my-" Owen stopped his whining for a moment and looked around. "Jack… where's Zep?" He suddenly remembered that two days ago was the longest Page could go without taking her medication. When she first arrived at Torchwood, they discovered that there was something off about Page Scott. She explained the situation to Jack, who of course had not told the team all the details. Page had, thanks to a Quickening, broderline disorganized schizophrenia. She could usually go a week or so with no medication and there would be no problem. She was going on two and a half weeks though, and Owen told her that she had to have her meds. That was three days ago. He could not remember anything in the passed two days and when he checked Page's medication there was nothing missing. "Shit, Jack."

She was easy to find, huddled up in the corner of one of the cells, by the Weevils. Owen entered the cell slowly, followed by Jack. They had to be cautious. This had happened once before, before Page told anyone and she got violent sometimes. "Zep…" She curled herself up closer to the corner, attempting to get away from them. Page's vision was blurry. She had memories of things she could not tell if they were real or her hallucinations. Nothing seemed real anymore. She was falling and there was no one to catch her.

She lashed out when Jack took her wrist and pulled her close to him. "Shhh, shh its okay." He held her tight as Owen injected her with a mild sedative. Moments later she was calm in Jack's arms. Owen slipped her medication into her mouth and gave her some water to swallow it. Then he left and let her sit with Jack for a few hours until it kicked in. Jack was the only person she trusted when she got like this. He was the only one Page knew would not, under any circumstances even consider locking her up. Jack was her protector.

--

Page sat up quickly, breathing in a deep breath of air. She opened her eyes and looked around. Page was locked in one of the cells. Page pounded on the door, screaming for Jack. It was not Jack that greeted her though. It was Owen and Tosh. She breathed a sigh of relief, not even noticing the blood that covered her. "Oh yeah, splitting up, wonderful idea. I got locked out, had to call Tosh." Tosh simply smiled, the way she does saying it was no big deal.

"Not now, Owen. Just get me out of here. Where's Jack?" Owen opened the cell door and let Page out. She looked between Owen and Tosh. Owen explained that they just got back in and came down to check on the Weevils when they found Page in there. "You didn't see Ianto?" Owen shook his head.

"Page, what's going on?"

She started to leave the basement but stopped when she got to the door and turned back to Owen. "I'll explain when I'm sure Jack's safe. Call Gwen, tell her to get her and Rhys here now. I don't want anything happening to them." She opened the door and walked out. Owen and Tosh looked at each other, sighed and reluctantly followed. Page went straight for the autopsy room. She was relieved to see that Jack was still there. Though when she looked at the scene again she felt sick. All that blood. She looked up when she heard footsteps behind her. "Owen stay-" but it was too late and he was standing next to her in the doorway.

"Oh my… fucking…" She could hear the fear, the disgust in his voice. Page could almost hear Owen's stomach turning the way hers as.

"What is it?" Tosh's footsteps were heard walking closer.

Owen turned and stopped Tosh before she could enter. "I can't let you in there Tosh. You don't want to see it."

"Ianto?" Tosh pushed passed Owen and ran into the room only to let out a horrified scream. She thought it was Ianto in there. What she saw terrified her more. "Oh my god… Who? What… what did this?"

Page slowly walked down the steps and knelt down next to Jack. "Ianto," she answered Tosh simply. Page watched as Jack rocked back and forth, holding his brother's body, whispering that he was sorry, over and over again and each time it broke Page's heart. "Owen… when Gwen gets her… Don't… don't let her in… Don't let her see this." She didn't hear an answer but could almost feel the nod from Owen. Page placed a hand on Jack's shoulder that made him jump. "Jack," she whispered. He looked up at her with tears filling his blue eyes. Page had never seen Jack like this. "I'm sorry Jack." She tried to be strong, because Jack needed someone strong right now but all of this was because of Page. "This is my fault. I'm so sorry. I should have gotten Ianto out first… I should have let you help me." He said nothing, simply stared at her and it hurt Page more than anything Ianto could have done to her. "I'll make this right Jack. I'll fix him. I promise."

She was silent for a few minutes, staring at the bloodstained floor. "Help me clean it up." Page looked up at Jack and bit her lip, holding back tears. He stood, holding his brother's dead body in his arms. "Please, Page. Help me clean this up."

Page nodded and as Jack carried Gray's body down to the morgue Page began to clean up the blood. She stopped when she felt a hand on hers. It was a soft hand, thin fingers. Page looked up and sat Gwen kneeling in front of her. "Let me help?" The redhead nodded and handed Gwen a rag to clean up the blood. Owen and Tosh joined her, and even Rhys was there to help. No matter how hard they tried there were unable to get all the blood out. A permanent reminder of what had happened. Page knew, when they got Ianto back it would only make things worse for him, but there was nothing they could do. The five of them left the autopsy room and found Jack standing in his office. Page placed a hand on Jack's shoulder and he turned to face her.

"What happened to him?"

Page sighed and leaned against the wall. Everyone deserved an explanation. Page looked at Gwen for a moment. "I'm not explaining what I am again, so you can tell Rhys on your own time." Then she scanned the group. "I told you all what a Quickening is? The transfer of knowledge, wisdom and experience from one Immortal to the next. Sometimes, most of the time we get a little piece of their personality. Like my schizophrenia. That came from a Quickening. I was not like that until about ten years ago." She took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sometimes, if an Immortal is too young, or takes in too much evil from a Quickening, he… or she is consumed by it, they call it a Dark Quickening. The darker parts of that Immortal's personality override his or her own. Anger that's held in is brought to the surface. No regard for rules, consequences. This is, not however, any sort of possession. Ianto doesn't think there is something wrong with him, because… honestly, there is nothing wrong with him. You all know what's happened to him. All of you have seen pain. All of you are bottling up anger inside and this is what happens when it explodes, and is amplified. Caelan had no regard for human life. He wanted something, he took it. You got in his way, you died. That's Ianto now. If… if it were me, if the Quickening had gone the way it was supposed to…" she paused and looked down taking another deep breath. "It would have been nothing. I've had worse than Caelan Egan. But Ianto is not an Immortal. He's never had to cope with a Quickening."

There was silence for a long time. No one knew what to say. No one knew what to do. "Has anyone survived, been fixed, saved?" Jack's voice was broken. None of them could decide if it was broken because Gray was dead, or because it was Ianto that killed him.

Page took a deep breath and looked over at Jack with a faint smile and a nod. "Yes. You know him." She placed her hand in Jack's and gave it a tight comforting squeeze. "Duncan MacLeod." Jack nodded and Page picked up his phone. She dialed a number and waited for an answer. "Duncan?" She took a deep breath. Page had no contact with MacLeod, or Adam Pierson, or even Joe Dawson since she left Paris, before joining Torchwood. "Its Page… I… ummm… Is Adam with you?" She breathed a sigh of relief. Page knew if Adam was not there, then this would never work. Adam was the only one that knew how to help. He helped Duncan. If Adam was not there it would take too long to find him. "Good… I need your help…." She looked up at Jack then the rest of the team, Jack's hand still held in her own. "Cardiff… Yeah Jack's here. Hurry…." She took a deep breath when Duncan asked her what it was about. "A Dark Quickening… Ianto Jones."


	14. Princes of the Universe

Jack and Page waited outside the tourist center. Duncan called before he left Paris, to tell them he was on his way. He left them with bad news though. A Watcher had discovered Adam's identity, not just a Watcher but two other Immortals. They were out for Adam's head. He had to leave Paris and did not get a chance to let Duncan know. Both Page and Duncan both knew that if Adam Pierson did not want to be found, he would not be. The news devastated Page. Adam was the only person who knew where the spring was. Duncan had been there but the experience left him drained and he could not remember where it was.

Page looked up quickly when she felt it. The familiar buzz of an approaching Immortal. "He's here," she whispered. Sure enough, only moments later Page spotted Duncan walking towards them. The redhead rushed up to meet him. She had been strong, hiding her fear, but with Jack and Duncan there, she could not remain that way. Page finally broke down as she threw her arms around Duncan's neck. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Duncan had not spoken to Page since Richie's death. He knew how close Page and Richie had become and saw the same pain in her eyes now. This group had become Page's family.

Duncan smiled as Jack approached. They had a long history together. Duncan MacLeod was one of the first people that Jack Harkness spoke to when he got stranded here, in this time. It was not until decades later that either man realized the truth. Page finally released herself from Duncan's grasp and took a step back. Duncan went to shake Jack's hand, but the "American" pulled Duncan into a hug instead. Duncan was far from surprised. Jack and Page then led Duncan into the hub, while Jack took the time to explain what exactly Torchwood was.

They all met in the conference room. There were more people in that room than there had been in a very long time. Toshiko, Owen, Page, Jack, Duncan, and Rhys. Jack refused to let Rhys leave the hub without either, Page or Jack, for his own safety. "I tried to find Adam when you called, but Joe told me he's gone hiding. Someone found out about him."

Jack took a moment to introduce Duncan to the team. "This is Duncan MacLeod. An old friend of mine and of Page's. He's like her, an Immortal. Duncan, this is Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Coo-… Gwen and Rhys Williams." Duncan nodded a greeting to them and looked over at Page.

Page sighed and leaned against the wall, standing next to Owen. She had distanced herself greatly from Owen the last couple days. She needed to be level-headed, and Owen made that incredibly difficult. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him. I think that needs to be our priority."

"What about Ianto," Gwen asked quickly. "How do we know he won't hurt anyone?"

Page took a deep breath and sighed. She looked over to Duncan. "Gwen, you're confusing it with a possession. Ianto's not possessed, he just…" Page took a deep breath, but she was frustrated. They all were. None of them had slept in over thirty-six hours. They were worried about their own lives as well as Ianto's. Page calmed slightly when she felt Owen's hand take hers. "Ianto is not possessed. He's still, essentially Ianto. Its just… he has slightly different motivations. Different desires, things that were taken from Caelan."

"Caelan? Page, you never said it was Caelan." Page simply looked to Duncan and nodded. "God, Page, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. He deserved what happened. Ianto did not deserve this though. It should not have happened."

"I don't understand how it did," Duncan answered.

Toshiko took her moment to chime in. "There was an unusually high spike in activity from the rift. It was at the same time and location as your… Quickening. We think that's what transferred it." Duncan nodded slowly, only partially understanding.

"Anyway," Page interrupted, turning her attention back to Gwen. "Though, Caelan was a heartless killer. That's not what is happening to Ianto. He won't go looking for random people to kill. If he hurts anyone he will target people we know, people we're close to. That's why we had you bring Rhys here, Gwen. To keep him safe." Page looked over at Owen slowly and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "We have some time before the impulse to kill at random will kick in I think. We have to find Adam."

Jack nodded and looked to Toshiko. "Tosh," he paused and took a deep breath. "I need you to do the final log out procedure for Ianto. We cannot have him getting back in here."

"But, what will happen when we get him back," Tosh asked.

Jack inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. "We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. For now though, we cannot let him back in here. As soon as you get that done, get some rest, all of you." Toshiko nodded and exited the conference room. After a moment everyone else followed, Gwen and Rhys all but collapsed on the couch. Jack found some spare blankets for everyone and Owen, Toshiko, and Duncan found room on the floor in the conference room. Page curled up on the floor by Owen, but was only there for a few short minutes.

After about ten minutes she stood and walked into Jack's office, taking the small ladder down into Jack's room. Jack was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Page sat down on the edge of the bed. He had not had a moment alone since all of this began. She gently took his hand and looked down at him. "Jack," she said quietly. He turned his gaze toward her and Page could see the tears in Jack's eyes. There was nothing she could say. He was broken, completely and totally broken, yet for the team's sake. He bypassed his time to mourn, gave it up to be strong. The team needed him. He was the leader, and he needed to be that for them. Page felt guilty though. Jack needed his time to mourn. His whole life he had searched for his brother, whether consciously or not. Even in the end, he chose to freeze Gray, rather than kill him.

Jack did not deserve that kind of loss. He had lost so much in his life already, been through so much. Page wondered how Jack kept his sanity through it all. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and leaned down to place a light kiss on his lips. Page loved him, not in the way most seemed to. Not in the way Ianto did. Page loved him first, before Ianto, before Gwen. It was never that kind of love though. Sure there was a sexual aspect to their relationship, there always had been. And for a while, in the earlier years Page thought she loved him. It was not that kind of love though. Jack Harkness was the closest friend Page had. She loved him as a friend, the best kind of friend. Page would die a thousand times over for Jack without even a second thought and if she could take away the pain he felt at the moment she would have. It brought tears to her eyes to see him so broken. Jack had always been so full of life, but now he seemed empty. He lost his brother, worse than that, he lost his brother at the hands of a man Jack thought he could trust.

Page was not sure how long she sat with Jack. Neither said a word. Jack stared at the ceiling, crying softly, and Page simply sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand until he fell asleep. When she was sure he was asleep Page leaned down and kissed his forehead. She stood quietly and climbed out of the room, making her way through his office and into the conference room. Page found Owen, lying on the floor and sat down next to him. He was sleeping. It was the first time since Owen returned that Page had taken the time to watch him sleep. Before, when he was dead, he had not slept. Since he came back, since his heart beat once more, Page had not had time to notice him sleep. It was the only time though, she noticed now, that Owen was ever really peaceful. When all the trouble in Owen Harper's past and present seemed to disappear and he was at rest. Page was lost in thought, staring at the young man when she heard the smallest little sound.

She stood and made her way out to Tosh's computer. The camera outside the Millennium Centre had been triggered. There was movement outside. Page could not tell who it was though. There was man, staggering slowly. Then the whole of the hub was alerted as the door to the tourist center was opened. Page was the first one to leave, to check it out. She rushed towards the stairs and ran as fast as she could, fueled on by adrenaline. Page burst through the doorway and found the man collapse on the floor of the tourist center. For a brief second Page thought it was Ianto, but then she realized that the man was blonde. It immediately sank in. "ANDY!" Page rushed to his side, dropping to his knees next to him. None of them had even considered Andy to be in any danger. He helped the team, assisted on some things, but that was it. Everyone forgot his friendship with Gwen, his friendship with Page. "OWEN! Owen get up here!" Page turned Andy over onto his back to assess the damage. He had large cuts across his face and deep gashes along his chest. The off-white shirt he had been wearing at the time was stained red with blood. Andy's face was incredibly pale. He was gasping for breath and Page could see blood collecting in his mouth. "Shh, Andy its all right. You're going to be all right." She turned her attention to the doorway when Owen came running through.

"What happened," he asked quickly, a first aid kit in hand.

"I don't know. Judging by the fact that he's BLEEDING TO DEATH, I'd say Ianto!"

Owen pushed Page out of the way and he and Duncan carried Andy down to the hub. They placed him on the table in the autopsy room and Owen quickly went to work attempting to stop the bleeding. Page stood up on the balcony overlooking the room, leaning against the rail. Gwen was in the conference room with Rhys, who held her as she cried. Page's hand shook violently as she watched Owen frantically working. She felt a hand on hers and looked over to see Jack standing next to her. "I should have called him. I should have had Gwen bring him in to. He's our friend, he's my friend. Ianto knew that. I should have thought of it and now… now he's going to die because I forgot about him."

Jack wrapped his arms around Page and held her close to him. "Shhh, he'll be all right. This isn't your fault Page. None of this is. It was an accident. The Rift did this. Not you."

Three long hours later, Owen entered the conference room. Page had fallen asleep during that time. Jack carried her down into his room and covered her up on his bed. As Owen walked into the room so did Jack and he sat down at the table. "Is P.C. Davidson going to be all right."

"Andy," Gwen corrected quickly. "His name is Andy."

Owen sighed, and pulled blood covered gloves off his hands. "I think so. He lost a lot of blood, but I managed to stop the bleeding. He'll be out for a while though. I'll keep an eye on him."

"No, you get some rest." Tosh spoke up for the first time in several hours. "Owen, you need sleep now. You've hardly slept since… since you came back and you need it." She stood and approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You get some sleep, I'll watch over him and I'll get you if anything happens." Without giving him a chance to argue Toshiko left the room.

Owen sighed and turned his attention towards Jack and Duncan. "Will we be able to help him?"

Jack sighed and glanced to Duncan before turning his attention to the young doctor. "I don't know Owen. I hope so, but… I… I don't know."

Owen nodded and looked around the room. He spotted Gwen and Rhys in the corner, sleeping, but did not see Page. "Where'-"

"She's in my room," Jack answered, pointing towards his office.

Owen nodded and hesitated. Jack nodded in the direction of his office and Owen left, heading into Jack's office and down into his room. For a long time no one knew this room existed. No one knew that Jack lived at the hub. He spotted Page curled up on Jack's bed. Owen sat down next to her, as quietly as he could. She turned slowly to face him. He noticed she was awake, crying. "Shhh," he whispered. Owen lay down next to him and Page curled up close. He wrapped his arm around her and she clenched her fist around his shirt, sobbing quietly. "It's gonna be okay Page. It's gonna be okay."

After a few more hours, Owen, Page, Jack, Toshiko, Gwen, Rhys, and Duncan had all finally managed to fall asleep. It was then that Page's cell phone went off. The phone had been sitting on the table in the conference room. The vibrations and loud "Kashmir" ringtone woke Jack up with a start. He looked at the phone but did not recognize the number. "Hello?"

"I'm looking for Page Scott," the voice on the other end answered. Jack was skeptical for a moment. He did not recognize the man's voice, or the number that was calling.

"Who is this?"

"My name is Adam Pierson."


End file.
